


we created a small thing

by lowcarbzeros



Series: all the in betweens [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Background Relationships, Discussion of Abortion, Discussion of Adoption, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Minor Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader-Insert, Self-Indulgent, University, Unplanned Pregnancy, deep down you want to read this, everyone wants kuroo to be their baby daddy, let's be real, more melodrama than is probably necessary, reader is best friends with akaashi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-04
Updated: 2017-10-04
Packaged: 2018-08-12 18:10:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 36,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7944247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lowcarbzeros/pseuds/lowcarbzeros
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You both know that you should have been more careful, but it's too late for that now. Neither of you are ready to be parents--you're barely ready to be adults--but with the love and support of your friends and family, you think you can maybe make it out alive.</p><p>But it is not going to be easy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. later than a senior to an 8am lecture

**Author's Note:**

> my contribution to the beautiful trash heap that is reader-insert fic

            You knock on the door to the apartment that Kuroo shares with Akaashi and Bokuto. Fidgeting with your fingers, you wait for someone to open the door. Barely five seconds pass before you hear heavy footsteps coming towards the door, and you're not surprised when it's Bokuto who opens it.

"[f/n]-chan!" he shouts in surprise.

"Hey, Bo-kun," you answer, giving him a small wave.

Bokuto gestures for you to come inside.

"Oy, oy!  Kuroo! Your lady's here!"

You take off your shoes and stand in the living room, anxiously toying with the frayed sleeves of the sweater you stole from your boyfriend as you wait for him. You look over to see Akaashi sitting on the couch watching you. He looks pointedly at your fidgeting hands and raises an eyebrow at you. You just shake your head slightly and turn your gaze to the floor. Normally you talk to Akaashi when something's wrong; he's one of your closest friends, but this is something that Kuroo has to hear first.

The sound of a door opening makes the nervous butterflies in your stomach flutter, and you look up to see Kuroo step out of his bedroom and start walking down the hallway. When he sees you he frowns a little and you're immediately hit with a guilty feeling; lately you've been answering all of his texts with short responses, or just not answering at all. This is the first time you've seen him in a little over a week, and you can tell that he knows you've been avoiding him. It's not that you didn't want to see him—you really, really did—it's just that you needed time to freak out on your own before bringing it up with him.

You've been scared.

Really scared.

After pausing at the end of the hallway for a second, he walks through the living room and approaches you slowly.

"Hey," he says, voice soft, running a hand gently down your arm.

"Hi," you reply, giving him a nervous half-smile. You look down and take his hand—so much bigger than yours, and calloused from volleyball. "Can we go to your room?"

"Yeah, sure."

He leads you through the living room and down the hallway to his room. As you shuffle behind Kuroo, you do your best to ignore the weight of Akaashi's eyes on the back of your head.

You both step into his room, and you go to sit on the edge of his bed, staring down at the floor. After Kuroo closes the door he joins you, leaving some space between you, making your stomach drop a little.

It's quiet for a couple of minutes until Kuroo finally speaks:

"So, um, did I do something to upset you, or—"

You shake your head franticly. "N-no, no that's not..." you trail off, still not quite ready to say it out loud.

"Then why have you been ignoring me?" He shifts over, placing a hand on the bed behind you so he can lean in to try and look at your face.

You take a deep breath and look up at him. "I need to tell you something," Your voice gets quiet, "But I'm afraid."

He brings his hand up to rub your back gently. "Don't be afraid, kitten, you can tell me anything."

You know that, but it doesn't make this any easier.

Looking down at your hands, you take another deep breath before saying, "I'm, um, I'm late."

His hand freezes on your back, and after a few beats of silence you start to fidget.

Kuroo clears his throat. "Um, when you say late, you mean..."

"I mean _late_ late."

You feel a lump start to form in your throat as he lets out a breath. "Okay," he says, obviously trying to keep his voice calm. His thumb starts to rub soothing circles into your back. "How late are you?"

"A little over two weeks," you say quietly.

"Shit."

"Yeah."

Kuroo tilts your head up and looks down at you with a troubled expression. He places a hand on your face, stroking your cheek with his thumb, and his voice is gentle when he says, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I kept waiting and hoping... I didn't want to stress you out if it turned out to be nothing." You feel the lump in your throat get tighter, tears stinging at the back of your eyes.

"That's silly," he says, resting his forehead on yours, "So, I take it you haven't taken a pregnancy test yet?"

"No, I-I couldn't—" you try to swallow down the lump in your throat, fighting back the tears, but it's no use and your next words come out tight and strained, "I couldn't do it alone."

And just like that, the tears start to fall down your cheeks. You take in a shaky breath, and Kuroo pulls back, looking at you with wide eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey," he says, pulling you into his chest and placing a hand on the back of your head. "Shh, I'm sorry, baby, don't cry."

You grip his t-shirt in your hands and cry into his chest. The feeling of Kuroo's arms around you, being surrounded by his familiar scent, is comforting, but you've been holding this in for so long and it takes a while for the tears to slow.

After a few minutes of rocking you in his arms, murmuring soothing words, Kuroo pulls away enough to see your face. He wipes away the tears under your eyes and kisses your forehead. "You don't have to do this alone," he says firmly, "I'm here. Whatever happens, I'm here."

You never once thought that Kuroo would abandon you over this, but the words are still reassuring and help you to get it together a little bit.

"Did you bring a test with you?" he asks.

You shake your head, _no_. You'd gone into the store to buy one, but chickened out. It had just been too overwhelming.

"Okay, that's okay," he kisses the top of your head and pulls you close again. "How about I run to the corner store down the street right now? You can stay here, okay?"

"Okay," you whisper.

"Alright." Kuroo lets you go then and stands up off the bed. You watch him stumble around his room grabbing his wallet, keys, and a sweater. Once he's done that he moves to stand in front of you, so you tilt your head up to look at him. When you do he cups your face with his hand and leans down to kiss you, firm and reassuring, making the knot that's been sitting in your chest loosen just a little bit. After a few moments, he pulls back a little and murmurs, "I love you," against your lips.

You place your hand over his, bump your noses together, and whisper, "I love you too."

He gives you one more chaste kiss and then straightens up to walk over to his door, opens it up, and then turns to say, "Be back soon."

You give him a nod and then he's gone, closing the door behind him.

In the silence you've been left in, you curl up on Kuroo's bed, pressing your face into the pillow's to breathe in his scent, and as you lay there you hope, for the first time in your life, that you'll start bleeding through your jeans at any given moment.

 

  Kuroo walks down the hallway trying his best to mask the absolute panic that he is feeling in his gut. He walks right by Bokuto and Akaashi, who are sitting cuddled up on the couch, without sparing them a glance, and starts forcing his feet into his shoes. He's hoping they won't pay him any attention, but just as he's about to open the door, Bokuto speaks up:

"Hey! Where you off to? Everything okay?" He's looking at Kuroo over the back of the couch with a concerned expression.

"What? Yeah, everything's fine," he says, hoping it was convincing. "I'm just heading to the corner store to get stuff—snacks."

"Oh, cool! Mind grabbing us a bag of chips? You know the usual."

"Uh, yeah man, sure." He pulls open the door and starts to leave.

"Thanks dude!" Bokuto yells after him.

He doesn't respond and continues to rush out of the building. His brain is running a mile a minute, and his stomach feels all twisted in knots. He can't even imagine how you feel, considering it's your body that is potentially...

Fuck, he is freaking out.

As he runs down the street, too keyed up to just walk, he tries to think back to every time in the last month that you guys didn't use a condom, or weren't as careful as you should have been. It's hard to pinpoint anything because it's not like either of you were thinking very straight in the moment.

He reaches the corner store and barely takes a moment to breathe before he yanks open the door. When he steps inside, he takes a quick glimpse around to see if there's anyone he knows here; there's only one other person besides the cashier, and that person is just the old man who is literally always here buying peanuts, so he figures he's good. It's not that it really would have mattered that much, he would still buy it regardless; it's just that he would rather avoid any gossip getting spread around campus, for both of your sakes.

After a couple minutes of searching he finally spots a shelf with some tampons and other feminine looking products, and decides that might be the right place. His eyes scan down the shelf until he finds what he's looking for right on the bottom. Kneeling down, he starts to read the packaging. Some of them look kind of shady, and he doesn't want to risk getting a false result, so he grabs the most expensive one and stands back up. With another glimpse around, he sees that the store is empty, so he goes and quickly grabs what he told Bokuto he was coming for.

He gives the cashier a polite hello and dumps the stuff on the counter, purposefully setting the pregnancy test under a bag of chips. The cashier, who knows him, Bokuto and Akaashi as regulars, scans all of the items, including a package of your favourite candies, and when he gets to the pregnancy test he raises and eyebrow at Kuroo and shakes his head. Kuroo fixes his gaze on the bag of snacks, bouncing on his toes anxiously, until the cashier clears his throat and gives him a total. Kuroo pays him and runs out of the store as soon as he gets his change.

When steps back into the apartment he toes off his shoes and tries not to immediately run down the hallway to get to you. Instead he casually walks through the living space—throwing Bokuto's chips at him on the way, getting flipped off in return—and then speed walks down the hallway to slip into his bedroom.

 

You hear the door being opened and turn your head to see Kuroo coming through the door. He gives you a small smile and comes to sit on the edge of the bed, a plastic bag in his hand. You sit up and shuffle over to sit next to him, leaning against his shoulder. He reaches into the bag to pull out a small rectangular box and hands it to you. Taking it, you read the packaging:

_Results in five minutes!_

_99.9% Accuracy!_

_Use the brand women across the country trust! Don't take chances!_

If you weren't so fucking terrified the last part of that would be funny.

Suddenly you feel a calloused thumb brushing your bottom lip, pulling it out from between your teeth. You hadn't even realised you were chewing on it.

"What if I am pregnant?" you say, turning to look at Kuroo.

He shrugs and says, "Then we'll figure it out, but we can't do that until we know for sure." He nods at the box in your hand.

You open up the box and read over the instructions before taking the testing stick out and looking it over. You take a big breath and then let it out slowly. "Okay, I'll, um, go pee on this stick then."

You get up, tucking the test into the front pocket of Kuroo's sweater, and then head towards the door. Before you open it you hear Kuroo call out your name softly, so you turn to him.

"Don't screw it up," he says with a cheeky smirk.

You let out a laugh despite yourself, shaking your head as you say, "I'll try not to miss," and head out into the hallway.

Luckily the bathroom is right across from Kuroo's room, so it's easy to slip in relatively unnoticed. You pause and look at yourself in the mirror, noticing how tired and stressed you look, before sitting on the toilet and doing what you had hoped you wouldn't have to do for a long time. You follow the simple instructions exactly and then set a timer for five minutes on your phone.

Quickly you wash your hands then exit the bathroom to sneak back into Kuroo's room, opening the door gently. Kuroo doesn't seem to notice you at first; he's on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands, fingers tangled into his hair. At the sound of the door closing, Kuroo's head shoots up and he looks up at you with wide eyes, hair messier than usual, before he frowns and promptly looks away. You're willing to bet that he's upset that you saw him so very obviously distressed.

You walk over to Kuroo's desk and place the test down carefully and then sit down next to him. Smoothing out his hair as best you can, you say, "It's okay that you're freaking out, Tetsu."

He looks over at you, his face open, eyes honest, and says very softly, "I'm terrified, [f/n]"

"Me too," you say as you lay your head on his shoulder. He wraps an arm around you, presses a kiss into your hair, and then lays his head on yours.

You're both quiet after that—waiting.

As time ticks by, it starts to feel like someone has placed a vice grip on your rib cage. You try to focus on something other than the stupid little pee stick that's sitting on Kuroo's desk, but you just can't keep your eyes off of it. There's a static energy surrounding both you and Kuroo, and it's making all of the nerves in your body thrum. Kuroo starts to shake his leg, and you know he's feel the exact same way. You close your eyes and start repeating one word in your head, over and over: _please, please, please, please, please, please, ple—_

The alarm on your phone goes off from inside your pocket.

Kuroo's leg stills.

The vice grip on your rib cage tightens.

It feels like hours have past, yet like this moment has come all too soon.

You silence the alarm on your phone.

You both stare over at the desk, the room too quiet.

Neither of you move.

"Tetsu," your voice comes out tight and quiet.

He gives your waist a squeeze and then starts to stand. "I'll, uh—I can look at it, if you don't want to."

You whisper an _okay_ and watch him step over to the desk.

As you watch him pick it up, your heart beats too fast in your chest and you think you might throw up from the anticipation.

Kuroo takes a breath and looks down at the test—

—and when he doesn't immediately sigh with relief, you know exactly what it says. You don't need him to say it out loud, his silence is enough, but he does anyway:

"It—it's positive."

Your whole body goes cold.


	2. lean on me when you've fucked up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone digests the news and there's at least one too many head kisses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I may have gotten a little TOO self indulgent on this one, but ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 
> 
> I just really love thinking about cuddling Kuroo

_It's positive._

Those words have been echoing in your brain for what feels like hours now.

You're stuck frozen, dread paralyzing your body. Neither you nor Kuroo have spoken since he read the test. It feels like sky has fallen to crush both of you. Your worlds are ending.

_It's positive._

Your stomach sinks further and further.

This can't be happening. How could you have let this happen? You're not the girl who gets knocked up in her second year of university. You know better.

You know better, but it happened anyway.

Swallowing thickly, you put a hand on your stomach as if you could feel the tiny thing that's starting to grow inside of you.  It's been quiet for so long and soon it starts to get to be too much. You look up and see Kuroo leaning against the desk staring at the floor with widened eyes, a hand over his mouth.

"Tetsurou," He turns his head to look at you, all of the worries in the world in his eyes. "What are we going to do?"

You watch his mouth twist as he chews on the inside of his cheek, thinking. "I don't know," he says finally, his voice quiet, "What do you want to do?"

You don't have the slightest idea. While you were waiting for your period to show up you'd been hoping you wouldn't have to think about it. Well, now you definitely have to think about it, but it's too overwhelming. You only have three options, but each one of those options has such vastly different consequences. There's too much that you have to consider.

"I-I don't know," you say, voice just barely a whisper. Overwhelmed tears start to flood your vision—fuck you wish you would stop crying. "Tetsu, I don't know."

Kuroo walks over to you and kneels between your legs, running his hands up and down your arms soothingly. "W-we don't need to make any big decisions just yet, okay?" His voice wavers with uncertainty. "We should get you to a doctor first, probably. See how far along you are, ask them any questions we need, and- um- then we can go from there."

"Yeah, y-you're right," you say as you nod your head and wipe the tears from your face. "There's a women's health clinic downtown. I'll call them tomorrow morning to make an appointment."

"Okay," he says and then stands up. He kisses your head and then sits beside you.

He puts an arm around you, but it's not enough for you right now. So, you crawl into his lap, wrapping your legs around his waist, and tuck your face into his neck, hanging off of him like a koala bear. You feel his strong arms wrap around you and hold you tight.

"I can't believe this is happening," you mumble into his neck.

He leans his head against yours. "We should have been more careful."

"I'm sorry," you say quietly.

"It takes two people to make a baby, kitten, why are you apologizing?"

You shift a little in his hold, knowing he's not going to like what you say, "Because I'm the one who gets too sick to take birth control."

He clicks his tongue, like you figured he would, and says, "[f/n] that's not your fault and you know it." He pauses for a moment. "Besides, apparently I'm the one who has the weak pull-out game."

"Tetsurou!" You pull back to frown at him. "Why would you use a term like that right now?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He pulls you back close and hides his face in your neck, "You know what I'm like when I'm anxious."

You huff. "You're an idiot."

"Yeah."

You run a hand through his thick hair. "We're both idiots."

He sighs. "Yeah."

It gets quiet between the two of you. When Kuroo starts gently, it makes your body start to relax against him. You've been feeling exhausted all the time lately, and now that you know you're pregnant it makes a lot of sense.

Pregnant.

 Thinking of the word makes you want to cry again, so you rest your head on Kuroo's shoulder and close your eyes, just focussing on the rocking.

"Hey, kitten," Kuroo says, interrupting the quiet.

"Mh," you hum to let him know you're listening.

"I love you," he murmurs.

 "I love you too, Tetsu."  

After that neither of you speaks anymore. You just hold each other, letting your breathing sync. It's so comfortable and relaxing that your body starts to give in to its exhaustion, and you feel sleep start to tug you down.

And you must have fallen asleep because the next thing you know someone's moving you.

"Tetsu?" you mumble, but it doesn't quite come out properly.

"Shh, baby, I'm just laying you down," you hear him say softly, "Go back to sleep, it looks like you need the rest."

You want to grumble at him that you're fine, but your brain is sleep-foggy and his bed feels like a dream, so you just make some sort of affirming noise and curl up. You think you hear him laugh at you as you drift back to sleep, but you can't be sure.

 

Kuroo laughs lightly as your scrunched up, confused face relaxes as you start to fall back to sleep. You're always so cute when you're half asleep, a pain in the ass usually, but cute. He pets your hair back from your face, running his fingers through the strands, and watches you for a couple minutes. When he's certain that you're asleep he stands up from the bed, careful not to jostle you, and goes to leave his room.

Before opening the door, he takes a deep breath. He'd let himself relax while you were in his arms, but now all of the nerves and panic are starting to settle into his body once again. He doesn't want to alert Bokuto and Akaashi, but he's pretty sure they already know something is going on. He walks out to the living room and sees that Bokuto is now sitting on the far left of the couch, and Akaashi is sitting in the chair to the right, closest to the hallway entrance and kitchen. This would seem weird, considering they're a couple, but Kuroo knows exactly what this is:

They've set him up for ambush.

He tries to school his face into something resembling cool and collected, and saunters over to sit by Bokuto on the couch. Neither of them say anything to him, so he just pretends to watch the TV.

He does fine acting casual at first, but being with his friends now makes him want to seek out their comfort. All of his anxieties that he didn't want to put onto you are creeping up on him fast. His leg starts to shake without his permission, and his posture is tense. He feels Akaashi's eyes burning into the side of his head—the guy has a killer 'I Know Something's Wrong' stare. Eventually Bokuto shifts closer to him and clears his throat, subtle as always. Kuroo's entire body is practically radiating with anxious energy now, and it's only a matter of time until they make their move.

And just as he thinks it:

"So, where's your girlfriend?" Bokuto asks as conversationally as he's capable of.

Kuroo clears his throat. "She's sleeping right now."

"Is everything okay between you two? You both seemed tense earlier." Akaashi says.

"Y-yeah, we're okay." All Kuroo can think about in this moment is all of things that are _not_ okay about this entire situation. He can feel it starting to overwhelm him. How's he going to provide for a child? He'll have to drop out of school and get a full-time job. Will you guys even keep it? Would you hate him if he wanted to? But wait he can't take care of a baby. Just a few days ago he and Bokuto microwaved an egg just to see what would happen. Babies are small and vulnerable. He's not ready for any of that. Not to mention that he's only twenty years old. You're both so young and have so much that you haven't done yet. But the other options are scary in their own ways. What would they do to your relationship? Fuck, he can't deal with this. He can't d—

He bends over, elbows on his knees, and puts his face in his hands as all of these feelings explode. His chest is constricted and his throat his tight. Tears start to spill over his eyes and he tries his best to keep from crying audibly, but his whole body shudders with it.

"Kuroo?" Bokuto says, voice full of worry, and puts a hand on his back. "Tets, what's wrong?"

He swears and pulls his face out of his hands. Akaashi has moved to sit on the armrest beside him, face concerned. Kuroo wipes away the tears that just keep coming, and tries to take a breath.

"Um- fuck," He swallows and tries again. "[f/n]'s- um, she's uh- pregnant."

There's a moment of stunned silence.

"Shit."Akaashi eventually whispers.

"Oh, fuck." Bokuto tacks on.

Kuroo just nods his head, staring at the carpet.

"Jeez, so was it just a fluke condom or were you guys not-"

"Koutarou," Akaashi snaps, "That is not helpful right now."

"Shit, sorry."

Kuroo waves him off. "No, it's fine. We weren't as careful as we should have been."

He hears Akaashi sigh. "Damn it, Kuroo."

"I know, okay? I fucked up." He takes a shuddering breath. "I don't know what I'm going to do you guys."

"Hey," Bokuto says, "We're here for you, man."

"And we'll do whatever we can to help," Akaashi adds, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Has she made an appointment with a doctor?"

"She's calling tomorrow." Kuroo straightens up. "And then I guess we'll talk about our options after that."

It falls quiet as everyone digests what's going on. Then after a while Bokuto speaks up.

"You know, Kuroo," he muses, "This doesn't really say much for your pull-out game."

"Honestly, Koutarou," Akaashi hisses.

But Kuroo just laughs weakly, wiping the last of his tears away. "Fuck off, man, I already said the same thing."

They both laugh then and Akaashi pushes himself off of the couch and walks away shaking his head.

"You're both awful." He whips his phone out of his pocket and dials.

"Who ya callin', babe?"

"I eat when I'm stressed and so does [f/n], so I'm ordering pizza."

"Oh!" Bokuto shouts, "We should watch one of her favourite movies while we eat!"

Kuroo smiles at both of them gratefully and thanks the universe that they're in his life. He still feels the heavy weight of the situation on his shoulders, but it's good to know that they're around to help support him.

 

You're pulled out of sleep by a hand gently shaking you by the hip. You open your eyes reluctantly and see Kuroo sitting on the edge of the bed looking down at you affectionately.

"Hey beautiful."

You hide your face in the pillow and grumble something unintelligible.

He rubs a thumb into your hip. "There's pizza out in the kitchen."

You peak an eye out at that.

He laughs, reaches down to help you sit up, and then keeps his arms around you. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Mhmm, I still feel like I could sleep for a hundred years though."

He hums and brushes a piece of your hair behind your ear. Then he gets a sheepish look on his face. "So, uh- Bo and Akaashi know. I kinda spilled it to them."

You take that in for a moment and then sigh. "It's okay," you say, "I would have told Keiji-kun soon anyway."

Kuroo lets out a relieved breath and then smiles at you. "Come on, before Akaashi eats all of the pizza. We're putting a movie on too"

You make your way out into the living room and Kuroo tells you to go sit while he grabs you your food. You're perfectly capable of getting your own pizza, but decide not to argue with him and go curl up in the big chair. Bokuto and Akaashi are already on the couch with their pizza but neither of them are eating. You were already nervous to see them now that they know, but the tense atmosphere in the room is making it worse. Akaashi is very deliberately acting casual, and Bokuto, bless him, is trying; his eyes keep darting over to you every so often and he's chewing on his lip.

"Guys," you say and they both turn to look at you. "I know that you know. It's okay."

They relax which is good, but then they give both give you a mournful look that makes you feel kind of awful. Like they know exactly how bad you've screwed up and how difficult the consequences are going to be for you no matter what you do. You look down and start fidgeting with your fingers self-consciously. Then you hear a noise and look up to see Bokuto put his pizza down and charge over to you, crouching down to pull you into a tight hug. "We're here to support you, [f/n]-chan!" he shouts.

"Thank you, Bo-kun," you choke out.

"Koutarou get off of her," Akaashi says, pulling Bokuto away.

Bokuto apologises and goes back to the couch and his pizza. Akaashi leans over to give you a one armed hug and places a kiss on the top of your head. "You already know you can come to me about anything."  

You give him a nod. Akaashi goes back to the couch just as Kuroo approaches you with pizza. You thank him as he hands you the paper plate and he smiles at you before sitting on the ground with his back against the chair. Someone turns on the TV and Bokuto gets up to switch off the lights. Then you hear the movie start playing and look over to see that it's one of your favourites. It makes you feel a little emotional, so you take a bite of your pizza to try and keep from crying. You've done enough of that today already.

The movie plays while everyone eats, and it does help to take your mind off of your problem a little bit. Eventually the pizza boxes end up in the living room for easier access and not long after they're left empty.

You look over to the couch and see Akaashi sprawled out on his back with Bokuto laying on top of him between his legs with his head on his chest. Akaashi's got his arms around him, one hand toying with his hair absently. You look down at the top of Kuroo's head and reach out to tug on his hair gently. He tilts his head back to look at you with a raised eyebrow.

"Come here," you whisper.

He turns around and rests an arm on your legs and says, "You want me to sit in your lap?"

You roll your eyes. "No."

He snickers and moves so you can stand up. He takes your place on the chair and wraps his arms around your waist to pull you down. You curl up in his lap and rest your head against him. His arms are warm around you and you feel like you could melt into him.

A little more than halfway into the movie the exhaustion starts to weigh down on you again. You snuggle closer to Kuroo, tucking your face into his neck, and start to drift. You feel a kiss pressed to your forehead and Kuroo murmurs, "You're falling asleep on me again, kitten."

"I've just been so tired lately." You keep your voice down to keep from disturbing the other two.

Kuroo brings a hand up to your jaw and strokes your cheek with his thumb. "M'sorry."

You kiss his neck. "If I'm not allowed apologise neither are you."

He doesn't respond but instead places a tender kiss in your hair. You let the sounds of the movie fade into the background and eventually fall asleep.   

You wake up at some point while Kuroo's carrying you to his room. He helps you out of your clothes and into one of his t-shirts, and then you crawl into his bed. As you're starting to fade again you feel the bed dip as he slips in behind you. You feel his arm snake around your waist and pull you close to his warm chest. He kisses your shoulder, and just before you fall asleep you hear him whisper, "We're gonna be okay, kitten, I promise. I'll take care of you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so nothing really happened, I know. Next chapter is the appointment and all the decision making drama. It was supposed to be part of this chapter but I'm trying to keep them under 4000 each and it would have ended up too much so I split it. I should have chapter three done by Saturday.


	3. are we positive?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the big decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh boy.
> 
> just throwing it out there that this is the chapter where abortion and adoption are discussed. i'm not here to shove my personal values down anyone's throats, i just wrote what felt right for the story, so please don't come at me with pitchforks. 
> 
> i'll also mention that i started doing research on abortion and women's clinics in japan, but it got complicated, so i just based it one what i know about my own country. i'll be doing the same for everything else pertaining to health care for the rest of the fic too. just makes life easier for me--i'm here for the drama, not the societal accuracy. 
> 
> anyway, i'll shut up now. enjoy!

The next morning you find yourself sitting cross-legged on Kuroo's bed holding your phone in your hand. You'd just gotten off of the phone with a lady from the clinic. It had taken you ten minutes to even make the call. Then your voice had been small and unsure as you answered her questions. You felt so helpless and lost. You didn't want this to actually be happening.

But it is very much happening. This morning you'd woken up feeling like you hadn't slept at all, and as an added bonus your breasts felt sore—like _really_ sore—and swollen. Not to mention your stomach felt bloated and gross. You put your fingers to your temples and rubbed them in circles. You just found out that you're pregnant yesterday, and it already sucks.

You hear the door open and see Kuroo step into the room. He's only in a pair of boxer-briefs and is rubbing a towel over his wet hair, fresh out of the shower.

"Did you call?" he asks, throwing the towel over his desk chair.

"I did, yeah," You play with hem of Kuroo's shirt that you're still wearing. "They said that they could get me in this afternoon, actually. Around 2:30."

"Oh, okay," He grabs a pair of jeans and a shirt out of his closet. "I'll ask Akaashi to borrow his car then."

"No, Tetsu, you have classes this afternoon."

"So?" He steps into his jeans and starts to pull them up. "You do too."

You roll your eyes. "I'm the pregnant one, I have to be there. You don't have to miss your classes, I'll be fine."

"Kitten," He hops to get his jeans over his ass and starts doing them up. "I'm not letting you go alone. If you have to miss classes, then I have to miss classes."

"That's stupid, Tetsurou," You look at him seriously. "You're in your third year. You can't afford to miss anything."

He throws his black t-shirt over his head and pulls it on. "I don't have any labs this afternoon and I can get lecture notes from someone else."

"Tets-"

"[f/n]" He says your name firmly, cutting you off. "I'm going with you."

"Fine," you say and get up off of the bed. You head towards his dresser to grab clothes from the drawer that you keep here. You go to walk past Kuroo but he puts his arm around you to gently pull you into a hug.

"I need to be there with you," he says softly, "I don't want you to be alone through any step of this."

You wrap your arms around his waist and hug him back. "I just don't want you to get behind."

"I know, but I don't want you to get behind either." He tightens his hold on you. "Just because you happen to be the one with the uterus doesn't mean I get to sit back and let you deal with it."

You groan and dig your forehead into his chest. You don't even know why you were arguing with him. You knew he was going to come with you no matter what—expected him to even. Kuroo's a good guy; of course he's not going to let you go alone. It's just that you care about him so much, and you don't want this to mess anything up for him. He's so smart and driven, and he deserves to achieve everything he's been working so hard for. You don't want to be the reason he doesn't do that.

"I hate this, Tetsu," you mutter into his chest.

"I know." He kisses the top of your head and then gives you a squeeze. "Come on, you should go shower before Bo or Akaashi beat you to it."

You nod and go grab your clothes.

 

The time until the appointment feels like it's moving in a different dimension from everything else. Nothing feels like it's quite right. Your body feels full of static electricity and everything around you doesn't seem like it's really happening. Everyone's acting kind of strange while trying to act normal. Kuroo's a lot clingier than usual, constantly having a hand on you all through the morning. Akaashi teases you less, well not at all, and Bokuto keeps trying to do things to make you smile which isn't all that strange except that he's extra loud and weird about it. You kinda wish they would all just chill out and stop treating you like you're dying.

You let it go though, and soon enough it's time to leave. Akaashi had let Kuroo borrow the car without a second thought, so now you're sitting in the driver's seat listening to the radio play quietly as Kuroo drives to the clinic. Neither of you speak during the drive. The air in the car is tense, and it's making your anxiety over the appointment worse, but you just don't know what to say. There's nothing _to_ say. When you come out of this appointment the two of you are going to have to make a giant decision, one that will affect you for the rest of your lives, and the knowledge of that sits heavily between you.

Kuroo pulls into the lot and parks the car. You both just sit and stare at the clinic for a moment, until Kuroo undoes his seatbelt.

"Alright, let's do this." He turns to you and tries to look reassuring.

You just nod your head and undo your own seatbelt and get out of the car.

After registering at the front desk, you go and sit beside Kuroo in the waiting area. It's overly quiet in the room. There are a couple of other women already waiting, but neither of them are as young as you. After a while of waiting you find yourself fidgeting with your fingers, feeling like you're going to puke if you have to wait any longer. Kuroo has started shaking his leg and for some reason it's driving you up the wall. You try to ignore it, but eventually you can't take it anymore and put your hand on his leg to stop him.

"Sorry," he mumbles.

You squeeze his leg and keep your hand there. He takes your hand and threads his fingers through yours, and you both continue to wait.

Finally your name gets called and you both stand to follow the nurse down the hallway. Kuroo continues to hold your hand firmly as you walk.

Once you're in the examination room the nurse tells you that the doctor will be in soon and leaves, closing the door behind her. You sit in the chair closest to the doctor's desk and Kuroo sits down beside you. There are pregnancy charts and posters all over the walls that you find you'd rather not look at so you stare into your lap instead.

"You okay?" Kuroo asks.

You shrug and look up at him. "About as okay as I can be right now."

Guilt flashes across his face and he casts his eyes down. "Right, sorry."

You frown, hating that he keeps apologizing, and place your hand on his cheek to gently make him look at you. You take a moment to look into his eyes and then lean in to kiss him softly. It's only a short kiss, but it's enough to get your meaning across:

_Stop beating yourself up._

Just as you pull back the door clicks open and the doctor steps in.

"Good afternoon," she says politely, closing the door behind her.

You and Kuroo both mumble a 'hi' as she takes a seat at the desk. She takes a quick look at your file.

"Okay," she says and turns to you. "It says here that you've taken a pregnancy test and got a positive result?"

"Yes, um, yesterday," You do your best not to sound too nervous. "I had been a little over two weeks late."

"Alright, so this wasn't planned," she affirms and you shake your head. She turns to look at Kuroo. "And you're the father?"

He jumps a little at being asked a question and sits up straighter in his chair. "Uh, yeah- yes. I-I hope so." He laughs sheepishly and the doctor raises her eyebrow. You turn give him an unimpressed look and when he catches your eye he clears his throat and says, "Sorry."

The doctor gives a small amused smile and turns back to you. "Am I correct in assuming that you're here to talk about your options?"

You take a moment to breathe before you nod and say, "We're not really sure what we want to do. We're both still in university."

Her face softens. "Okay," she says, her voice kind, "Let's start out first by figuring out how far along you are. When was the first day of your last period?"

"Um, hold on," You take your phone out and check the calendar. "September eighth."

She nods and jots it down on a notepad. "And is your cycle usually regular?"

"Yes, I was expecting it around the fifth this month."

She nods her head and then looks at a small calendar on the desk. She seems to do a couple of calculations and then writes down another couple numbers.

"Okay, so based on the information you've given me," She looks up at you from her notepad. "I'd say you are six weeks and 5 days pregnant."

You hear Kuroo suck in a breath beside you.

"Oh," you breathe out, placing your hands over your stomach. The number surprises you a little for some reason. Hearing it makes it feel a lot more real and your voice comes out small and quiet when you ask, "What would the due date be?"

"An approximate due date would be June fifteenth."

 _June fifteenth_ , you mouth the words to yourself, still holding your stomach. You feel warmth on your knee and look down to see Kuroo's hand there, rubbing in circles with his thumb. You tilt your head up to see his face. He's looking at you carefully, his eyes soft. You turn back to the doctor and ask, "How long do we have to decide?"

"Well, if you're considering abortion-" You flinch at the word that you and Kuroo have both been avoiding saying out loud. "-technically you have until early December before your first trimester ends, and then after that it gets a lot more complicated and expensive. But I would suggest taking no more than three weeks to decide, as it will only become increasingly difficult for you, and also harder to find a doctor willing to do the procedure. It's also better to know if you're planning on carrying it to term sooner so that we can get you started on a plan and do all of the testing that we need."

You're quiet as you think over everything that she's said, chewing on your lip. You take a few deep breaths but you still struggle to take it all in.

"We do have counselling services here to help you make a decision if you need it," the doctor says gently, "But I would suggest that you two go home and talk about it together. Look at it emotionally, financially, and practically. In the end it is your body and your decision, and whatever that decision is we have supports here to help you carry it out, okay?" You look up at her and nod. She smiles. "Okay," She stands up and walks to the door. "Take some time to think on it. When you've made a decision, give us a call and we'll make you an appointment based on that."

"Okay, thank you." You stand up and Kuroo follows you.

The doctor lets you both walk out first and you exchange goodbyes before you and Kuroo leave the clinic.

You walk with Kuroo to the car, the air a little cooler than when you'd arrived. You crawl into the passenger's side and wait for Kuroo. He opens the door and gets in, and after the door slams shut he sits for moment before letting out a heavy breath.

"Six weeks and five days," he says.

"Yeah." You look down at where your hands have rested on your stomach again. You feel a hand run through your hair and settle on the back of your head, fingers massaging it gently.

"Should we go back and talk about it now?" Kuroo's voice is thick with stress.

"Yeah," you say quietly, "Let's just stop by my place first so I can grab my textbooks and notes for tomorrow," you pause for a second, "Um, if you want me to stay over. I just figured this might take a while."

Kuroo tucks the hair that you're hiding your face with behind your ear. "Of course, kitten."

"Okay." You try for a small smile and he sends one right back to you before pulling his hand away and starting the car.

The drive is quiet to your place. You run in and grab your books and some extra clothes, thankful that your flatmate isn't home. After that the drive back to Kuroo's goes by far too quickly. You know that this conversation needs to happen, but the weight of it feels like too much. You're simply not prepared.

Once you're back in Kuroo's bedroom you each take a seat on his bed. Kuroo sits against the wall and you sit cross-legged against the headboard so you can face each other. Quiet settles over the room while you both try to sort out your thoughts. After a couple of minutes you finally look at Kuroo and say, "So, where do we start?"

He runs a hand through his messy hair. "Well, are you leaning in any particular direction?"

"Um, n-not really," You start playing with your fingers. "I guess I'd like to know what you're comfortable with. I mean, is- is um, abortion even an option for you?"

He's quiet for a moment, looking thoughtful, and then says, "I'll support whatever decision you make, kitten. It's your body."

You sigh. You need more than that. You can't make a decision about this without knowing what Kuroo wants. "Yeah, but I don't want to do anything that you might resent me for later. I don't know what your thoughts on abortion are. We've never talked about it."

"[f/n], I'm pro whatever you want to do. If you want an abortion, I'm not going to tell you that you can't. Being pregnant is hard on your body, and I'm not going to force you to carry through with it if it's not what you want." He looks at you, waiting for a response, but you just look at your hands without saying anything. Kuroo's far too kind sometimes. Of course you love that about him—love that he cares so much about you—but this isn't just about you. It's his baby too.

After a couple minutes of you not speaking, he tilts his head down so he can see your face. "Is an abortion what you want?"

"I don't know," You shrug. "An abortion is scary, but so is the idea of being pregnant." You swallow, trying to ignore the panicked feeling in your chest. "An abortion would make the most sense given that we're not financially ready for a child, nor were we even planning on being parents right now. Even if we put it up for adoption, I would still have to attend classes while pregnant, and that sounds like a nightmare."

Kuroo nods his head. "That's all true."

Frustration from his lack of input starts to eat at your nerves. "Okay, so then I get an abortion, but then what happens?" You look at Kuroo earnestly, "We carry on with our lives—our relationship—knowing that I was once carrying our child and it just doesn't exist anymore?"

Kuroo makes a helpless face. "Well, yeah," He brings his legs to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. "I mean, that knowledge would definitely have a presence in our relationship going forward."

"But that sucks!" Your voice shakes from your impending tears and you can feel all of your frustration and fear building up. "No matter how I look at it, it all feels helpless."

He reaches over and puts his hand on your knee. "I know."

"Well I'm glad you know," you bite out, pulling your leg away, all of your emotions suddenly crashing into you like a wave. "Since you don't seem to care what happens."

His eyes widen and his mouth falls open. "Wha- kitten," He starts to reach toward you again but you move out of his reach and off of the bed.

"Don't 'kitten' me right now, Tetsurou," At this point there are heavy tears falling down your face. "I'm trying figure out what to do, and you're- you're not-" You're cut off by a small sob. "I'm so tired, Tetsurou! I'm exhausted all the time, and my body is doing things that I don't understand. It doesn't even feel like it's mine anymore. I- I have no control over anything and-" You start having difficulty breathing, your breaths coming in gasps and sobs. "And you're not-" Gasp. "-Helping at all-" Sob. "I n-need to know what you w-want-" Gasp. "S-so I don't make the wrong de-decision."

Kuroo rushes over to you. "Hey, [f/n], baby shhh," He brings you to his chest, a hand on the back of your head, and holds you close as you sob. "Shhh, breathe baby. Breathe for me." He rests his head on yours and rocks you. You clutch onto his shirt listening to him murmuring calming words, and eventually you get your breathing under control. The tears still come, but they've slowed.

Kuroo pulls back and smoothes down your hair. Then he places his hands on either side of your face, wiping tears away with his thumbs, looks you in the eyes, and says, "First let's just figure out if an abortion is something that you want. If it is, I will fully support you, and whatever happens afterwards, whatever issues come up, we will talk it through. We'll figure it out, okay?" You sniffle, the tears having finally stopped, and nod your head. He continues, "If you decide that you want to carry on with the pregnancy, I will still fully support you, and we can talk about whether we want to keep it or not together." He strokes a hand through your hair. "I promise to be honest with you, okay?"

You nod your head again. "Yeah."

"Okay," he whispers and leans down to kiss your forehead. Then he takes his hands away from your face and leads you back to the bed. This time he sits against the headboard and you sit in between his legs, leaning your back against his chest. He has his chin resting on your shoulder and his arms wrapped around you tight.

You think for a while, feeling his steady breathing on your back, and try to really understand what you want.

"Tetsu," you say once you've made sense of your thoughts, keeping your voice quiet, "I don't think I could go through with an abortion."

He presses his lips to the side of your head and then says, "Okay," into your hair.

"I know that it would probably be the smarter decision, considering our circumstances, but despite what horrible timing it is, I still think it's pretty amazing that we made this baby together," You take his hands and place them over your stomach, keeping your hands over top of them, and continue, "And I don't want to get rid of anything that's a part of you."

Kuroo's breath hitches behind you. He tightens his hold on you and buries his face into the crook of your neck. He stays like that for a moment and then kisses your neck affectionately before saying, "That leaves us two options then."

"Yes," You stroke your hands up and down his arms. "And I'd like to hear your thoughts on both of those options, please."

"Right," He takes a deep breath, adjusts his position a little, and then continues, "If we keep it, that would mean needing more money. A lot more money, which I am willing to work more to make. If that means that I have to go to school part time, or drop out entirely for now, then I'll do that. But raising a child is a lifetime commitment, and it will mean making lots of other sacrifices down the road too." You nod along with him, your heart feeling warm despite the nerves in your stomach. "Adoption would mean that the baby would go to people who have already done all of the planning and are prepared for a child. Theoretically it would be raised in a more stable environment. But then we go on with our lives knowing that there's a child out in the world with our DNA, and depending on what kind of adoption it is, doesn't even know we exist or at least doesn't know who we are." He clears his throat. "And that thought makes me kind of sad."

Your heart grows even warmer in your chest.

"What about you," he asks.

"I know that we're not even remotely prepared to raise a baby, but there are some things about adoption that freak me out." You start playing with your fingers nervously as you continue to speak. "I mean, what if the adoptive parents seem great at first, but end up being horrible later? I don't want anybody to screw it up, you know? And I've read about some kids getting really messed up from adoption. If we keep it, then I know that we'll love it and do everything that we can to keep it safe."

Kuroo shifts you over a little so that he can crane his neck to see your face. He looks at you with an awed, slightly nervous expression. "Are you saying..."

"Tetsurou," You meat his gaze with sincerity, finally feeling like you know what you want, "I think that I want to keep it."

He looks deeply into your eyes, his face still open and bewildered, and then says, "I think that I want that too."

Your heart starts to hammer in your chest, and you say, "So we're doing this?"

He lets out a short surprised laugh. "I think we are."

You turn around completely so that you can face him, and the way that his eyes are shining, looking at you with an almost terrified kind of excitement, startles a laugh out of you too. You cover your mouth and say, "We're so fucked."

He laughs full out then and grabs your waist, pulling you into him so he can bury his face into your shoulder. "We are," he laughs, "We are _so_ fucked."

You're both giggling now and Kuroo tackles you backwards onto the bed. His mouth finds yours and he starts kissing you breathlessly. His lips are warm and firm against your own, he has a hand cupping your face, and each kiss feels like a promise. He starts to kiss down your jaw and then your neck. The kisses are chaste as he works down your chest and starts to move down your stomach.

When his lips reach just under your bellybutton, he stops. Taking the bottom of your shirt, he lifts it just enough to place a tender kiss to the skin there. The action causes your breath to catch in your throat. You thread your fingers into his hair and look down at him with complete adoration. You know that this whole thing is going to be hard, but the way Kuroo looks up at you and smiles so lovingly makes you feel like with him it will be possible. He'll be there to give you strength when you need it, he always has been, and you know without a doubt that we will be an amazing father.

All of these emotions swell in your chest and you feel tears start to trace their way down your cheeks, even though you're smiling. Kuroo sees this and slowly crawls back up your body. He kisses your cheek and wipes a tear away with his thumb, his brow furrowed.

"Sorry," you say, laughing a little, "I think the pregnancy hormones keep making me get all emotional." The corners of his lips turn up a little and he strokes your cheek with the backs of his fingers. "I'm sorry I yelled at you before," you add on.

"Kitten, you were upset. And for a good reason, it's okay." He brushes his nose against yours.

The tears continue to pour out of you like a fountain, but it's okay because this time they're not out of fear or anxiety, so you just let them go as you bring a hand up to rest on Kuroo's cheek. You sweep your eyes over his handsome features and then bring them up to hold his gaze. You let your emotion coat your voice as you whisper, "I love you so much."

He smoothes back some of your hair from your face and meets your gaze with just as much tenderness. "I love you to," he says, dropping his head to give you a slow kiss. When he pulls back he adds, "So much."

You're feeling so much all at once that all you can do is bring his lips back down to yours, kissing him deeply. As your lips moves against each other, gentle and persistent, you think that maybe you'll be okay.

Maybe with him this isn't the end of the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i've made this part of a series, just incase there's anything i write that's irrelevant to the story but i still want to share. the first thing will be a smutty continuation of this chapter. i didn't include it here because i wasn't sure if it really had any place in the chapter. i didn't want to force it in, so it will just be an extra that you can feel free to read if you want, or don't if you feel like it doesn't fit. 
> 
> edit: [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8563138) is the smutty continuation
> 
> i'm also on [tumblr](http://lowcarbzeros.tumblr.com/) and i literally just made and am looking for people to follow and chat with about haikyuu!!


	4. opinions are like assholes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the plot doesn't move forward and inch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i figured with it being so close to halloween that now would be a good time for me to rise from the dead. i hope no one has forgotten about this story, ha. i'm sorry it took me so long to update. life got very busy and i had a bunch of unfortunate adult things to deal with. but i'm back! 
> 
> i haven't forgotten about the smutty extension of last chapter, that is coming. i just got stuck on it cause I've never written smut from the second person perspective before, so it's kind of strange. 
> 
> anyway, i will warn about mentions of vomiting in the beginning of this chapter. i don't go into any explicit detail or anything, but morning sickness does happen.

It's the end of the world.

At least that's what it feels like while you empty all of the contents of your stomach into the toilet you're bent over. You were really hoping that you would be one of those few lucky people who wouldn't get morning sickness, but apparently the universe hates you, so here you are suffering. 

You start to wretch again just as Kuroo tiptoes into the bathroom and kneels beside you, rubbing your back and holding back your hair. You really wish he would just leave you alone, puking in front of your boyfriend is embarrassing and in no way flattering, but you don't bother asking because you know that he'll just ignore you.

"Akaashi's making ginger tea for you in the kitchen to help with the nausea," he says once you've finally stopped. He reaches up to the counter and hands you a glass of water. You sip it gratefully and pull away from the toilet to sit with your back resting against the bathtub.

"Okay," you reply, taking another sip of water and then looking at Kuroo critically, "Shouldn't you be getting to class now?"

He shrugs. "I've got a little bit of time still. I don't wanna leave you on your own like this."

You snort. "I'm a big girl, Tetsurou. I've dealt with throwing up before.  I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" he says, smirking.

"Yes, now please get lost."

He smiles and kisses you on the top of the head before standing up.

"What," you tease, "Don't want to kiss me on the mouth?"

"I love you, kitten, but not that much." You pout your lips at him and he just rolls his eyes. "Are you coming back here after your classes this afternoon?"

You think about it for a moment. You'd rather come back here, still feeling the need to be close to Kuroo for his support—you may have decided to keep the baby, but you're still majorly freaked about the whole thing—but as much as you want that, you feel like you need to give him and the other guys their space. There's also a lot of stuff back at your apartment that needs to get done. You sigh and run your hand through your tangled hair, mussing it up. "No, I should go back to my place. Got laundry and class work to do."

He nods. "Alright, I probably won't see you again today then." He reaches down and runs his hand over your head, smoothing down the hair you just messed up. "Promise you'll call me if you need anything, okay? And by anything, I mean absolutely anything."

You reach up and take his hand, running your thumb over his knuckles. "Yes, Tetsu, I promise."

He squeezes your hand once before letting it go and turning to exit the bathroom. When he reaches the door he looks over his shoulder with an earnest look in his eyes, and says, "I love you."

"I love you too. Now go before you're late!"

He flashes a grin and then takes off.

Once he's gone you let yourself slump against the tub and groan, holding your stomach. It feels like you have a hangover but without the night of fun before (well, the night of fun that caused this was a couple months ago and you're not even sure which night of fun it was, so it hardly makes this suffering worth it). If this is what every morning is going to feel like, you swear that you're going to call Kuroo every single day just to cry about it and make him feel guilty so you're not the only one suffering.

No.

You're not actually going to do that to him. You're already certain that he feels guilty enough, and it's really not his fault that you're the one who has to go through all the pregnancy bullshit. But you are going to make Akaashi teach him how to make ginger tea so that he can at least come over and make it for you when you need it.

When you think you're finally done puking, you slowly stand up on wobbly legs, gripping the counter for support. A wave of nausea hits you when you straighten out a little too quickly and you take deep breaths until it eases a little. You stare out the bathroom door and chew your lip, dreading the walk out to the kitchen for two reasons: one of them being that every move you make sends your stomach roiling, and the other being that at the end of that walk, in the kitchen, is Akaashi, and you've not been looking forward to being alone with him after he found out about your decision last night.

Once Akaashi and Bokuto were both home from classes, you and Kuroo had decided to tell them that you were going to keep the baby. At first they had both been shocked, but then Bokuto had started shouting excitedly about how he was going to be an uncle—the _best uncle ever,_ in fact—but Akaashi had only spoken a soft _wow_ and then was quiet for the rest of the night. He kept giving you weird vibes and you had a feeling he had a problem with your decision. He's generally not one to keep his opinions to himself, so you figure he's just waiting to get you alone to voice it.

Ugh.

Eventually you get desperate for the relief that the ginger tea will hopefully bring, so you suck it up and make your way _very_ slowly to the kitchen.

When you get there you eye Akaashi, who is pouring your tea into a mug, and sit down at the breakfast counter.

Without looking at you Akaashi asks, "How are you feeling?"

You breathe a short laugh. "Awful."

"Mh," is all he has to say as he sets your tea down in front of you on the counter and turns to fuss at the sink.

He can be so damn passive aggressive sometimes.

You fidget with your fingers while you wait for the tea to cool enough to drink, occasionally throwing a glance at Akaashi, who just continues to find mundane kitchen tasks to do. You roll your eyes and pick up your mug to slurp your tea obnoxiously—which is a huge mistake because it's still a bit too hot, but you're committed now, so you suck it up and swallow, hiding the pain. You hear Akaashi sigh but keep your eyes on your tea while he walks over and stands at the counter. He places both hands on the top and leans towards you.

"Yes, Keiji-kun?" you say, still focusing on your tea.

"Are you seriously keeping this baby?" he says.

You sigh and look up at him. "Yes, we are."

His brow furrows. "You decided this after one day?"

"We both thought about it, had a discussion, and this is the choice that we feel is best for us and the baby," you say, annoyed.

 "[f/n]," he says, shaking his head, and you can already tell that what he's going to say next will be in that condescending tone of his that you hate, "A baby is a huge responsibility. This is going to change your entire life."

Knowing what he was going to say doesn't make it any less infuriating.

"I happen to be incredibly aware of that, actually.  But I can't get an abortion, Keiji. I can't"

"Adoption then-"

"Look Keiji," you cut him off. You can't go through this discussion. "Tetsurou and I talked about it, okay? It wasn't an easy decision, but it's the one that we made."

"You're going to throw your entire future away," he says with some heat in his voice.

"That might be true but fuck, Keiji, this is the only option I have!" you shout in frustration. Your head is starting to hurt and the nausea is still going strong. "And you can't possibly understand because you and Koutarou are never going to have to worry about this!"

He rolls his eyes. "That hardly-"

"No, just stop," You put a hand up and stand out of your chair as angry tears start to come to your eyes. "Please, Keiji. I'm exhausted and I don't feel well, and I just really need you to stop being such a dick."

"I'm not trying to be a dick. I'm just trying to get you to think about this logically," He crosses his arms. "I'm _trying_ to be a good friend."

"Well you're not doing a very good job. I don't need you to make my decision for me. I need you to be supportive." You pick up your tea and start walking towards the hallway. "Thanks for the tea."

He calls your name but you ignore it and keep walking until you're in Kuroo's room and slam the door behind you.

You wipe away the tears, set the tea on Kuroo's nightstand, and crawl into bed. You mess around on your phone while you sip on your tea. It takes most of the edge off of the nausea and you finally feel like you can get some more rest.

You float in and out of sleep, hearing Akaashi leave at some point, and don't get out of bed until your alarm warns you that you only have forty-five minutes until your first class. Groaning, you get out of bed and get ready for your day. Unfortunately you're still exhausted, but you don't feel sick anymore, so there's that.

Once you're all set up you lock up the apartment and leave for class.

 

Kuroo steps into his apartment, feeling exhausted from his day of lectures. He's a little bummed that you won't be coming back tonight, but he thinks it's probably good for you to have your space. Neither Bokuto nor Akaashi are out in the main area so he guesses they've either gone out or are fucking, and if it's the latter that means he's going to have to find his headphones.

When he gets to his door he does hear some noise from their bedroom, however it does not sound like anyone is having a good time in there. The muffled sounds of an argument make Kuroo cringe and he quickly gets into his room so he can shut the door. He'll probably get an earful about what they're fighting over later from Bokuto. 

He drops his bag next to his desk and fishes his phone out of his pocket before he flops down onto his bed with a giant sigh. He brings up the contacts on his phone and with a grimace on his face stares down at one particular name:

_Kenma_

He needs to call him but he really doesn't want his best friend to know what a massive idiot he is. 

His thumb hovers over the call button for a minute until he finally clicks it and brings the phone up to his ear. The phone rings a couple of times until Kenma picks up.

 _"Hey,"_ he says in his quiet way.

"Hey, Kenma," Kuroo replies, and then doesn't say anything else.

It's quiet except for the feint sounds of videogame theme music and button clicking in the background.

 _"Um, is there a reason you called?"_ Kenma finally asks.

"Oh, right," Kuroo says, fiddling with a loose thread in his shirt, "Um, there's something that I've gotta tell you."

_"What did you do this time?"_

Kuroo flinches and laughs nervously. "Uh, got my girlfriend pregnant?"

The sound of button clicking stops abruptly, followed by game over music. _"Kuro."_

He swallows. "Yeah?"

_"Are you serious or are you just fucking with me?"_

"Ah," He runs a hand down his face. "I'm very serious."

There's the sound of shifting, and Kuroo knows that Kenma's really paying attention now. _"What are you guys going to do?"_

"We're, um-" He pauses, afraid of what his friend's reaction will be.  "We're gonna keep it."

 _"Mh,"_ is all Kenma says and Kuroo starts to panic, until Kenma says dryly, _"You're not going to ask me to babysit, right?"_

Kuroo laughs, feeling relieved, and replies, "Well you kinda live too far away for that now."

 _"Thank god,"_ Kenma mumbles, _"Babies are loud, gross, and scary."_

Kuroo smacks a hand to his faces and groans, "Kenmaaaa!"

There's a breath of air into the receiver, Kenma's version of a laugh, and he says, _"Right, sorry."_

"Yeah, whatever," Kuroo mutters.

 _"But seriously,"_ he says quietly, _"how are you doing with this?"_

Kuroo sighs. "Honestly?"

_"Honestly."_

"I'm scared as all fuck," he takes in a breath. "Kenma, I'm going to be a father. A child is going to call me dad. There is going to be a tiny, very expensive, human with half my DNA, and I'm going to have to somehow manage to keep it alive."

 _"Kuro,"_ Kenma says, sounding unimpressed, _"I'm sure you'll be able to do more than just 'manage' to keep it alive. You're smart and responsible, when you're not left alone with Koutarou, and you're a very strong and caring person. You're also not alone. You will have lots of support, mainly from the girl you knocked up."_

"You're right, you're right," Kuroo concedes, and then perks up a little. "Aw, Ken-ken, I've never heard you say so many nice things about me!"

He hears Kenma huff and then game music starts up again. _"Don't get used to it."_

Kuroo chuckles. "I won't... Uncle Kenma."

_"Ugh, I'm hanging up now."_

There's a click and then silence on the other end as Kuroo continues to laugh. It will definitely be interesting to see Kenma interacting with his baby.

 _His_ baby.

He wonders when this will all start to feel real.

 

The dryer rumbles underneath you as you sit on it waiting for it to stop. No one else is in the building's laundry room so you decided to stay and get some reading for your classes done. Except that you can't focus because you're still mad about your fight with Akaashi, and your whole day of classes had just been weird. You spent the whole time feeling like everyone knew you were pregnant, even though that was impossible. Now the rest of your evening is to be spent finishing your laundry, catching up on your coursework, and getting out to a pharmacy at some point.

You'd called the doctor earlier when your classes finished and made your next appointment, which would include an ultrasound. She had given you a list of vitamins and supplements to start, and said she would give you the rest of the nutritional info at your next appointment.

Suddenly the sound of your phone ringing echoes through the laundry room, startling you. You pull it out of your pocket and see that it's Kuroo.

"Hey," you say when you answer.

_"Hey beautiful"_

"What's up?" you ask, hoping he can hear you despite the dryer noises.

 _"Just calling to see how you're doing,"_ he says, _"Are you doing laundry?"_

"Yeah, I had a lot to get done."

_"Should you be carrying heavy loads right now?"_

You snort. "Are you going to be this overprotective the entire pregnancy?"

 _"Yes,"_ he says very seriously.

And honestly, that's kind of hot.

"I'm fine, Tetsu."

He sighs. _"Alright, alright."_

You smile because you know he wants to fight you on it more. Then you remember the phone call you made earlier.

"Oh, I made our first official prenatal checkup." The dryer stops underneath you, making the room a lot quieter, but you ignore it for now.

_"Yeah? When is it?"_

"That's the only thing," you say and chew on your lip. "The best date to get in turned out to be on your birthday."

_"Oh—"_

"But," you cut him off, rushing your words, "She's going to do an ultrasound, and... and we'll get to hear the baby's heartbeat."

 _"Kitten,"_ he says with a bit of laughter in his voice, _"That's fine. Hearing our kid's heartbeat for the first time will be a pretty cool birthday present."_

Your stomach flutters and you giggle. _"That's so weird to hear you say."_

He laughs. "It's weird to say it."

You smile to yourself, and then your smile fades a little and you sigh.

 _"What was that for?"_ he asks.

You cringe. "Nothing."

_"It wasn't nothing, kitten. What's wrong?"_

Damn him knowing you so well.

"Keiji-kun finally talked to me after you left..." you trail off.

 _"What did he say?"_ His voice is knowing.

You tell him about what happened, everything Akaashi said. Kuroo's quiet, really quiet, through the whole thing. When you finish talking, you sit quietly and wait for him to say something. He doesn't say anything at first, and you go to say something else but then he finally sighs (maybe growls just a bit?)

 _"Fuck, he can be such an asshole sometimes,"_ he says.

You hear some movement on the other end of the line and then you hear what you think is his door being thrown open.

"Wait, Tetsu—"

_"I'll call you back kitten."_

"Tets—" He hangs up.

You drop your head into your hand.

"Fuuuuuuck."

 

Kuroo strides across the hallway and knocks on Bokuto and Akaashi's door. It's only a couple seconds before it's opened.

"Ah, Kuroo," Bokuto says like he knows exactly why Kuroo's knocking on their door.

Kuroo leans around him to look at where Akaashi is sitting at the end of the bed.

"Hey, Akaashi. Mind telling me exactly why you decided to upset my girlfriend while she was already not feeling well this morning?" He starts to move forward into the bedroom.

Bokuto puts a hand on his chest. "Look, Kuroo—"

Kuroo pushes his hand away, but doesn't move any further. "Also, would you explain why you felt it was your job to be _anything_ but supportive of her?"

Akaashi side-eyes him, jaw set stubbornly.

"Tets, he knows," Bokuto puts his hands up placatingly, "We've already talked about it. He's going to call her and apolo—"

"No," Kuroo says and points at Akaashi, "He's going to drive over to her place right now and apologize to her face like she deserves."

Akaashi stands up then and walks over to them, gently moving Bokuto to the side so that he can stand face to face with Kuroo. "Fine."

"Look," Kuroo says, "I know that she's your best friend, but you need to understand that she is now not only my girlfriend, but also the woman carrying my child, and I cannot let you treat her that way."

"I understand," he says evenly, "May I go apologize to her now."

Kuroo stares him down for a moment and then moves out of the doorframe, gesturing for him to go ahead.

Akaashi breezes past, going to the front door, throwing on his shoes, grabbing his keys, and then leaving.

When the door closes behind him Bokuto whistles low.

"Dude, you went all alpha male on that shit. I've never seen you like that before."

Kuroo takes a deep breath and rubs the back of his head. "I don't know, man. It's like a switch went off the second we decided we were keeping the baby, and I just feel like I need to protect her from everything."      

Bokuto chuckles and puts a hand on his shoulder. "I'll make sure not to mess with her then."

"Yeah, you better not," Kuroo smirks.  "Or I might actually rip your throat out."

Bokuto laughs some more.

 

You find yourself pacing in your living room, clutching your phone in your hand. Kuroo hasn't called you back yet and you're starting to worry. Just as you start to seriously consider calling him there's a knock at your door.

You hurry over, expecting it to be your boyfriend, but when you open the door it's Akaashi who's standing on the other side of it. You stare at him and he stares back at you. Then he ducks his head and clears his throat awkwardly.

"May I come in?" he asks quietly.

"Uh, yes- yeah." You move aside and he bows his head slightly before stepping past you. He toes off his shoes and then you both stand there in more uncomfortable silence.

"Um, would you like some tea?"

"Oh, no," he fidgets with his fingers. "Actually could we speak in your bedroom?"

You nod your head and lead him to your room.

After you close the door you sit on your bed and look at him expectantly. He hesitates in front of you for a moment and then sits down beside you.

"I came to apologize," he says, "For upsetting you earlier."

"Okay," you say quietly and wait for him to continue.

He looks very obviously uncomfortable, not used to apologizing all that often. Or at least not used to admitting when he's wrong.  

"I know that I said some things that were out of line, and perhaps I should have kept my opinion to myself for once," He glances up at you and then takes a deep breath before taking your hand in his. "Mostly I'm sorry that I made you feel unsupported. I may not understand your decision, but I'll be here for you no matter what."

"Thank you, Keiji." You pull him into a hug. When you pull back you smile at him teasingly. "Was admitting your shortcomings hard for you Keiji-kun?"

He furrows his brows at you. "Don't push it."

You lean into him as you laugh. "So what was with dramatically showing up at my door? You could have just called me."

He grimaces. "Kuroo made me come and 'apologize to your face like you deserve.' I was concerned for my wellbeing if I didn't."

"What is with him?" You shake your head.

"His protective instincts have heightened, I suppose, now that you're carrying his spawn."

You smack him in the shoulder and he smirks at you.

"I won't lie, though," you say, "It definitely turns me on."

Akaashi rolls his eyes. "Don't let him know that."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to have to hear it through the walls when he inevitably uses that knowledge to his advantage," he says dryly.

You smack him in the shoulder again. "You and Bo-kun are just as bad, if not worse!"

"We most certainly are not," he says as he stands up and moves to leave your room.

You follow after him. "Do I need to remind you of Valentine's day last year?"

A blush creeps up his neck. "No. You do not."

"Mhhm" you smirk.

He huffs and turns to you just as he reaches the front door. "Is there anything you need before I leave?"

You think about it for a moment. "Actually, there's some pregnancy vitamins and stuff that I need to pick up from the pharmacy." You give him a cheeky grin.  "Would you be a dear and take me?"

He gives you a look that to most would seem exasperated, but you know it as Akaashi's particular brand of fondness. "Yes, of course."

"Great, and then maybe after that you can just take me home with you."

He snorts. "Get your things then."

You flash him a smile and get some of your stuff together quickly.

The trip to the pharmacy is interesting. The doctor told you what you needed, but she never told you which brands. You spend a lot of time panicking about whether one is better than the others until Akaashi finally gets out his phone and researches for you. There's an awkward moment when an older woman sees you and congratulates both you and Akaashi, to which he tells her that he's just a friend and his boyfriend would be rather upset if he had knocked up any girls, much to your simultaneous amusement and horror.

When you've finally got everything you need, you head back to the apartment. You consider letting Kuroo know that you're coming over, but then decide that he can't tell you no if you're already there. The car ride with Akaashi is quiet but comfortable. You're glad that you don't have to be mad at him anymore.

Akaashi carries your bags up the apartment stairs for you. When you try to protest you're given a look, so you just let him.

Kuroo's leaning against the back of the couch looking at the door when you two walk into the apartment, as if he was waiting to jump Akaashi the moment he walked in. You do your best to cover the amusement on your face, but Akaashi doesn't. When Kuroo sees you though, his face lights up.

"Hey you," He walks over and puts his arms around you. "What are you doing here?"

"I had to make sure you didn't beat up my best friend," Kuroo give you a sheepish smile and you lay your head on his chest. "Also, I missed you."

You hear his chuckle vibrate through his chest. He kisses the top of your head and then rests his cheek there. He mumbles, "I'm glad you're here."

"Yeah?"

"Yes," he pulls back. "I can't protect you if you're at your place."

"Protect me from what," you raise an eyebrow.  "My laundry?"

Akaashi snorts from somewhere behind you and Kuroo makes a face.

"Fine, go home smart ass." He makes like he's going to push you away, but you grab on to his wrists. You stand up on your tip toes and peck him on the lips.

"No." You pat his cheek and then walk over to where Akaashi left your bags. You bend down to pick them up, but before your fingers can even reach them Kuroo sweeps in and grabs them.

"No heavy lifting for you."

You sigh heavily. Eventually you're going to have to find a way to convince everyone that you're not made of glass, because at some point this is definitely going to get old.

But for now they can feel free to wait on you hand and foot if they want to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i may have laid the over protectiveness thing on a little thick, but it's my story i do what i want. hopefully it won't take me too long to get the next chapter out, but i am in school so i have to make sure that comes first.
> 
> also, things will start to pick up a little more in the story shortly. it's just that i feel like there's a lot of things that need to be addressed when someone first finds out they're pregnant, especially in this situation. 
> 
> I've been trying to think of a nickname that reader can give kuroo besides tetsu? if anyone has any ideas, just let me know.


	5. alien sighting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some calculations happen. and some worrying. also cravings. the ultrasound happens. and then some more worrying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i honestly don't even want to talk about why it took me so long to get this chapter out. i feel really bad about it, and i'm quite mad at myself
> 
> but anyway please enjoy
> 
> also, in case you missed it, i finally posted the [smutty extension](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8563138) of chapter three.

You're now a little over 8 weeks into your pregnancy and it's been—rough. And that's putting it mildly. Morning sickness continues to be a problem, and not only in the morning as the term suggests. Your boobs are always sore, you get heartburn constantly, you have to pee literally _all_ the time, and to top it all off you're constantly exhausted. And that's why you're currently staring blankly at the textbook in your lap where you sit next to Kuroo on his bed as he types away on his laptop. For the last ten minutes the words have simply been swimming around the page as you did your best to not fall asleep, but now you've chosen to just give up.

You slump to the side with your head against Kuroo's shoulder and close your eyes, listening to the clicking of his keyboard.

"That does not look like reading my love," he says as he continues typing.

"M' too tired," you grumble, nuzzling your face into his shoulder. "Like I am all the time."

You feel a kiss pressed into your hair. "Making a baby is tough work, huh."

A sigh escapes your lips and you tilt your head up to look at your boyfriend, who's looking down at you fondly over the rims of his glasses. He leans down to peck your lips and brush your noses together.

"You're doing a good job," he says with a cheeky smile.

"All I'm doing is taking supplements and throwing up all the time."

"You're not throwing up _all_ the time." He wraps his arm around your shoulders and pulls you close. "A good portion of your day is also spent peeing."

You make a distressed noise into his chest and he laughs.

"I think my jeans are starting to fit tighter already too," you mumble.

"And your boobs have gotten bigger." He squeezes your shoulder. "I've noticed."   

You pinch his side and he jerks away laughing.

"Tch, perve."

"But I'm your perve."

"Unfortunately."

"Now that's just not nice."

"I'm pregnant. I don't have to be nice."

"Well I can't argue with that, kitten."

You close your eyes again and Kuroo starts playing with your hair.

After a couple minutes of quiet, Kuroo says, "You know what I've been wondering?"

"What?"

"When exactly we made this baby."

You snort and peak up at him. "I've been wondering the same thing."

He smirks and raises an eyebrow. "Should we calculate it?"

You sit up a little. "I can probably find a website to do it for us."

He shifts his laptop so that the keyboard is in your reach, rubbing circles into your back as you open up Google and type in your search. You click on the first reputable looking result and then choose the _Calculate from Due Date_ option.

You type in your due date and then hit enter. When the results come up, you both take a second to read them, and then Kuroo hums.

"So the day of conception could have been anywhere between September 18th and 26th, but most likely on the 22nd."

"And sperm can live up to five days, so it would just have to be a date close to that."

Kuroo looks off into the distance and bites his lip as if trying to think.

You start thinking too, trying to remember any dates or—

Oh.

Just as you think it, Kuroo says the same thing out loud.

You both look at each other with wide eyes.

"That Saturday night we took Akaashi's car to go to the movies..." Kuroo trails off.

You think back on that night: the two of you had gone on a late night date to see a movie, but it turned out to be terrible and you'd just ended up making out in the back of the theatre. Neither of you had seen the other in a couple of weeks due to the start up of school, so things had gotten heavy pretty quick. It wasn't long until Kuroo was dragging you out of the building to the car where you...

"I can't believe we made our baby in the back seat of Akaashi's car in a movie theatre parking lot..."

You and Kuroo continue to stare at each other until you start to giggle, which sets Kuroo off too.

You cover your face with your hands. "Oh nooooo."

"This is incredible," Kuroo cackles, "You got pregnant because of a quickie in Akaashi's car."

"Tetsurou," you half laugh half groan.

"We have to tell him."

You raise your eyebrows. "You really want to tell him that we had sex in his car?"

He opens his mouth to answer and then closes it, seeming to reconsider. "Hm, you're right. That can wait until the baby's 18th birthday or something."

"Well," you giggle, "At least now we know for sure that it was, in fact, because of your weak pull-out game."

Kuroo's mouth drops open and you lose yourself to laughter. He sets his laptop aside and then tackles you, albeit gently, to the bed and starts to tickle you.

"You, kitten, have been spending too much time around Bokuto," he growls.

You shriek and giggle, writhing underneath him.

"No! Tets-Tetsu stoo-oop!"

He continues to tickle you without mercy. "Why should I, hmm?"

"Be-because I'm pregnant."

He laughs. "That's not gonna work this time."

You whine. "Because I have to pee! I'm pregnant and I have to pee!"

That gets him to stop, leaving you breathless underneath him.

He raises a doubtful eyebrow at you. "Do you really?"

"Of course." You flash him a smile. "Nowadays I always have to."

He snorts and gets off of you, allowing you to hop off of the bed.

"Alright, cheater," Kuroo says, smacking you on the ass as you start to walk away. 

You turn and stick your tongue out at him before heading out into the hallway—

Where you run right into Akaashi.

And immediately start giggling.

He gives you a dry look. "What exactly is so funny?"

"Nothing," you squeak, " 'Scuse me, have to pee."

You duck around him and run into the bathroom, shutting the door.

"Pregnancy is making you crazy," he calls through the door.

When you return Kuroo is back to typing his paper, his expression serious and focused behind his glasses. You start walking back towards the bed, intending to take a nap, but you're stopped dead in your tracks with a sudden realization.

"Tetsu," you say, putting a hand over your stomach.

He hums in acknowledgment, still focusing on the computer.

"We need to go to the convenience store right now."

He looks up at you over his glasses. "Why?" he draws out slowly.

"Because I need pickles."

He makes a face. "You hate pickles."

"Not anymore." You shake your head. "Now I need them."

A smirk creeps onto Kuroo's face. "Is this a pregnancy craving, kitten?"

You sigh and look down at your stomach that's grown only enough for you to notice. "Yes, I believe it is."

"Alright," he says, going back to typing, "Can you wait like half an hour?"

"No."

Kuroo snorts, probably thinking that you're joking, but you're not. As you've been speaking, the craving has been slowly taking over all thought in your head. You _need_ pickles. Right now.

When you don't say anything else Kuroo looks up at you and sees your serious face, which makes him laugh. "Baby, I just need to get through this section of my paper and then we can go. I promise it won't take me long."

"Tetsuuu," you whine and shuffle over to the bed. You crawl over top of his legs and then drop down beside him. "I need pickles right now or I'm going to die."

He shakes his head in mild amusement. "You're not going to die."

"Tetsuuuuuu," you nudge his shoulder with your head.

"Not going to work, love." He continues to type.

You wiggle under his arm to get closer to him. He sighs and adjusts his arms so he can keep working, all but ignoring you.

"Tetsu-chaaan," you sing, nuzzling your face into his stomach.

"Oy," He stops typing, "That's playing dirty."

You peak up at him, and in your sweetest voice you say, "Tetsu-chaaaaan."

He stares down at you for a moment and then rolls his eyes. He hits a button on his keyboard and then puts his laptop and glasses on his bedside table. After that he leans over you where you're now laying face up in his lap, and brings his face as close to yours as he can.

"You're being a real pain in the ass," he murmurs.

You bite your lip. "But I'm _your_ pain in the ass."

He smirks. "Unfortunately."

You laugh and lean up to kiss him.

 

You're standing in the middle of the corner store with Kuroo, a jar of pickles and a jar of sliced olives in your hands, but there's something else that's missing. You bite your lip and look around the store trying to figure out what it is. Your eyes land on the freezer in the back and it clicks.

Without a word to Kuroo you charge towards the freezer with determination. Once you get to the door you turn to Kuroo, who followed after you quietly, and shove the jars into his arms.

"Oh sure, yeah, I'll just hold these for you."

You ignore him and open the freezer, reaching up to grab a tub of chocolate ice cream. After a second of thought you grab a second one.

"Two? Really?"

You turn, letting the freezer door shut behind you, and frown at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He raises his hands, still holding the jars, and shakes his head. "Ohhh no—nope—nothing."

You narrow your eyes a little bit and start walking towards the counter, feeling like you've grabbed all that you need. Kuroo shuffles behind you, setting the pickles and olives down on the counter as you do the same with the ice cream. The store owner looks between the two of you and then gives Kuroo a knowing look. Kuroo just rubs the back of his neck with a sheepish smile. You avoid eye contact with the owner after that.

Kuroo pays even when you insist that you've got it. He's such a goddamn gentleman sometimes, not that you're complaining.

Once you're back at the apartment, you snatch the bag from Kuroo's hand and hurry to the kitchen where you throw the ice cream in the freezer and then open the pickle jar. You take three pickles and throw them in a bowl from the cupboard and then go back to the living room, plopping yourself down on the couch.

The first bite you take is downright heavenly. It's like you've been dying of thirst and were just handed a cup of water. It's so good you actually close your eyes and hum in satisfaction.

Then you hear a snicker. You open your eyes to see that Bokuto and Akaashi are on the couch beside you, giving you weird looks, and Kuroo stands in front of you with an amused smile on his face. He leans over you, placing both hands on the back of the couch, and says, "Better now?"

"Mhhm," you affirm around your mouthful of pickle.

He laughs and kisses your forehead. "Good. I'm gonna go work on my paper then." He kisses your cheek and then your neck sweetly. "Enjoy your pickles, weirdo."

He stands back up and starts heading towards the hallway.

You swallow your food and then call to him, "You shouldn't be calling me the weirdo. It's your kid who's making me want to eat these."

He stops, and when he turns to look back at you there's a blush spreading across his face. He looks at you warmly and then the corners of his mouth turn up in an adorably shy smile. You can't help but return it, butterflies in your stomach, and then Kuroo turns away to go to his room, rubbing the back of his neck.  

You cast your eyes down to the bowl of pickles in your hand, smiling like an idiot in the quiet that's settled over the room.

"You two are disgusting," Akaashi says after a moment from the other side of the couch.

"Aw, come on 'Kaashiiii," Bokuto, who happens to be sitting in Akaashi's lap for whatever reason, chides, "That was sweet."

"Disgusting," Akaashi repeats.

You roll your eyes, throwing him a 'whatever', and go back to munching on your pickles happily, wondering how many bowls of ice cream is considered too many.

 

A week later you find yourself at the mall. It's nearly Kuroo's birthday and you still haven't gotten him a gift. With school and all of the stress with being pregnant you'd nearly forgotten. You walk through a bookstore, browsing the titles. Akaashi follows behind you sipping at his kale smoothie—he'd made you get one too, saying that you needed to eat healthy for the baby, but you'd only taken a couple of sips before you were in danger of hurling everywhere. Most food was just not agreeing with you lately.

Nothing on the shelves pops out at you and you huff.

"Fuck, Keiji, I don't know what to get him." You turn to your friend and see him staring at a shelf of small gifts and knick-knacks.

He points at something. "You could get him this World's Best Dad mug."

You level him with an unimpressed expression, not even dignifying that with an answer.

"No?" He picks up the mug. "Well then that's what I'll get him."

That gets you to laugh. "You're such an asshole."

"I know."

You laugh again and he smirks.

Akaashi makes his ridiculous purchase and then you both continue on through the mall. It's not too busy, thankfully, so you have no problems chatting as you walk.

"So," Akaashi says after you both decide to head his and the other guys' favourite sporting goods store, "When are you going to tell your parents?"

That is something you've been avoiding thinking about.

"Never, if I can help it."

"That's not going to be possible."

"You and I both know they're just going to disown me."

There's a pause and then, "I know."

You look up at him and he looks back, sad and apologetic. He puts his arm around your shoulders as you walk the rest of the way to the store.

Honestly, this store is probably your best and last chance at finding a gift for your boyfriend. You browse through the clothes trying to find something you think he might need... or just look really hot in. You make your way through each section, occasionally making considerations, and eventually get to the shorts section where you're suddenly struck with a memory of Kuroo whining about needing new volleyball shorts.

How convenient.  

You search through them, trying to find something he'd like. Kuroo always looks good in shorts, so you're not too worried about that, but you do have to restrain yourself from picking the shortest pairs.

He's just got such a nice ass.

You grab a couple of black ones, since that's usually what he wears, and then you grab a pair with red trim that may or may not happen to be an inch or two shorter than the rest. He doesn't have to wear them to practice, but around the apartment when you're there is an excellent option.

On your way to find Akaashi you also grab a grey sweatshirt that you thought would look really good on Kuroo and also maybe you when you inevitably steal it.

When you find Akaashi he's got an armful of brightly coloured spandex to which you raise an eyebrow.

"Koutarou needs new workout gear," is all he says.

Once you've each paid for your things you exit the store and decide that you've had enough of the mall. On your way out you pass a maternity store that you staunchly ignore.                   

 

One day before you hit the ten week mark—the night before Kuroo's birthday and your ultrasound appointment—you stay over at his place. You're both a little jittery from the anxiety and excitement of what tomorrow means.

"We're going to get to see our baby tomorrow," Kuroo whispers to you. You're both laying close in his bed facing each other in the dark.

"I know," you whisper back, "It's going to be so tiny."

"And we'll get to hear the heartbeat."

You smile at how earnest he sounds, but it doesn't quite reach your eyes. And even in the dark, Kuroo somehow notices. He strokes a finger down your cheek.

"What is it, baby?"

"I'm just nervous." You take his hand in yours. "What if something's wrong with it?"

You've already come to grips with the fact that you're pregnant and going to have a baby, if anything were wrong with it your heart would shatter. Kuroo squeezes your hand and then lets it go to wrap his arm around you and pull you closer, tucking your head under his chin.

"We can worry about that if it happens," he says.

"You always say that, but what will you do if it actually does?"

He sighs your name in exasperation, and pulls back to look at you, placing a hand on your cheek. "Stop stressing out about what _might_ happen." He brushes your hair out of your face. "There is nothing we can do about it now, so just think about how cool it's going to be to hear the heartbeat of our strawberry-sized, alien shaped baby that's currently growing inside of you."

You bite your lip to try and keep from smiling.

"Don't you dare try not to smile at that."

Your smile breaks out despite your efforts and Kuroo smiles back.

"Fine," you say, "I'll do my best to not freak out."

He kisses your lips and then your forehead. "Good." He tucks you back under his chin. "Now go to sleep."

You wrap your arm around his waist. "You go to sleep."

"I've been trying but you keep talking."

"You started talking first!"

"I don't remember that."

You huff and nuzzle your face into his chest. "You're a goof."

"You spelled 'hot piece of ass wrong'."

"This is a verbal conversation, Tetsu."

"I stand by what I said."

"Fine," you slide your hand down and rest it on his ass, "Go to sleep you hot piece off ass." You punctuate that last word with a hard squeeze.

Kuroo chuckles and squeezes you. "Not even my birthday yet and I'm already getting action."

"Oh, just shut up and go to sleep."

"Okay, okay," he laughs, "Goodnight, kitten."

"Mm, g'night."

A kiss to the top of your head. "I love you."

"I love you too."

 

The next morning you find yourself sitting in a cold doctor's office, lying down propped up on a check-up table, not wearing any pants under the crinkly paper blanket that's covering your lower half. The sanitary paper that's underneath you crinkles as you shift uncomfortably. Kuroo stands beside you and stroking a hand up down your arm as you both wait for the doctor to arrive. A nurse had already taken some blood and asked you for a urine sample, both of which would be used for testing for abnormalities and such.

The sound of a quick knock on the door startles you, followed by the door opening and your doctor stepping through. It's the same doctor that you had last time and she smiles and nods a greeting.

"So I see you've decided to carry on with the pregnancy."

You nod your head.

"Have you two made a decision on whether you're keeping it?"

You look up at Kuroo and he smiles encouragingly. Turning back to the doctor you say, "We're keeping it."

She smiles. "Well alright then."

She sits in her chair and checks a few things on the computer and then asks you to set your feet in the stirrups at the end of the bed so that your legs are spread apart under the paper blanket. She does a physical examination and a pap smear, neither of which are very comfortable for you. Kuroo sits in a chair beside your head during all of it, casually looking everywhere around the office but at the doctor between your legs. It makes you want to laugh, considering the reason you're even here, anything to do with your vagina shouldn't even faze Kuroo.

Guys are dumb sometimes.

Once that's all over with, she lets you put your legs down properly.

"Alright, well everything looks good," she said, "You'll only hear from us if we have any concerns about test results. Before you leave today, make sure you book another appointment for six weeks from now. You can put your pants back on when I leave the room and the sonographer will be with you shortly."

You say your goodbyes and then she leaves with a kind smile.  

You get your yoga pants back on—yoga pants because all of your jeans are kind of uncomfortable now—and then hop back up on the table. Kuroo's been pretty quiet this whole time so you give him a nudge. He turns and looks at you with kind of a weird expression on his face.

"What's up?" you ask.

"I just thought of something," he murmurs.

"And what's that?"

He swallows and says, "What if it's twins?"

Your eyes go wide and your stomach drops. "Tetsurou—"

You're about to scold him for bringing that up _now_ of all times, but someone knocks and walks into the room.

You both turn to look at them, and you're certain that both of you look as panicked as you feel because the sonographer kind of laughs.

"Hi there." She comes and stands beside you and the ultrasound machine. "First baby?"

"Yeah," you both say weakly.

She chuckles. "Alright, well don't worry," she smiles, "it's almost never twins."

That doesn't make you feel any better.

She asks you to roll up your shirt and then squeezes out cold gel onto your stomach. Then she takes the probe and holds it over your stomach.

"You both ready?" she asks.

You turn and look at Kuroo. He looks nervous but still excited, despite any worries he may have. He takes your hand and grips it firmly and you turn back to the sonographer and nod.

"Ok," she smiles and then settles the probe on your stomach.

You watch the black and grey shapes on the screen morphing as she moves it. She points out things like your bladder, but you don't pay much attention to that.  Then, finally, she tells you that she's moving over your uterus, pointing out the 'gestational sac', and then another form pops up on the screen. It's a lighter grey than everything else, and shaped kinda like...

"And there's your baby," she says softly.

You feel your hand being squeezed as you stare at the screen in awe.

"And if you look right here," she points to a light fluttering speck in the baby's chest, "that's their little heart beating, nice and strong."

You start to feel something welling up in your chest, your eyes start to sting, and you turn to look at Kuroo. He looks so awe-struck with his mouth partly open and his eyes wide. He glances down at you and bites his lip. The feeling in your chest grows stronger.

There's some clicking sounds and then suddenly you hear a fast thumping noise. You snap your eyes back up to the screen and see a line zigzagging up and down across the bottom of it.

"Now we're listening to the heartbeat," she says.

That's when the tears start to spill over.

"Tetsu," you whisper, tightening your grip on his hand.

He starts to laugh. It's a happy, wonderful laugh. You don't get to see his face before he drops his head down on your shoulder. Running your fingers through his hair, you watch him and wait. He sniffs, and when he lifts up his head, his eyes are bright and shiny. His smile when he looks at you is brilliant and fills you to the brim with affection.

"It's pretty amazing," he says.

"Yeah," You look back at the screen—at your baby—and listen to the heartbeat, "it is."

He laughs again and brings your hand up to his lips, kissing it over and over.

There's more clicking and the heartbeat stops. Now the sonographer seems to be looking around at things.

"Well," she says, pressing some more buttons, "Everything seems to be the right size, and the heartbeat is strong." She looks at you. "I'd say as far as we know right now, you've got a healthily growing baby."

A sigh of relief escapes your lips.

"Would you guys like a picture to take home?" she asks.

"Yes," you and Kuroo both say at the same time.

She smiles. "Alright."

She presses a couple of buttons and then lifts the probe off of your stomach and turns off the machine. Then she takes a towel and wipes the gel off of your stomach. You hop of the table and put your shoes and jacket back on.

The sonographer leads you out of the room into the hall.

"You guys can pick up your picture at the front desk when you book your next appointment."

You and Kuroo thank her and go to do just that, holding hands the entire time.

On the train ride back to Kuroo's apartment, all either of you can do is stare at the photograph in your hands.

"We made that," Kuroo says, "That's our baby."

"I know." You place a hand on his cheek and bring him in for a kiss. "Happy Birthday."

He smiles against your lips and kisses you again.

"Thank you."

 

Later at the apartment you and Kuroo are relaxing on the couch when Akaashi and Bokuto get back from classes. Bokuto bursts through the door, looking around feverishly until he spots you guys on the couch and runs over.

"How'd it go guys?" he yells, throwing himself onto the arm of the couch and practically knocking Kuroo over.

"It went fine," Kuroo laughs and shoves Bokuto off of him, "The baby looks healthy, and we're not having twins or anything crazy like that."

"Man, I was kinda hoping you'd have twins," Bokuto laments, to yours and Kuroo's horror, "Did you get a picture? Please tell me you got a picture!"

Kuroo, who's been holding on to the picture ever since you got back from the appointment, hands it over to Bokuto, and Akaashi comes up behind him to look over his shoulder.

"Wow," Bokuto draws the 'o' out long, looking at it with pure excitement on his face.

"It looks like an alien is living inside of you," Akaashi deadpans.

"Keiji! Don't call their baby an alien! It's couthless."

"Uncouth."

"Exactly!"

"It's okay, Bokkun," you say, "They do look like an alien."

Bokuto makes a distressed sound. "Am I the only one who cares about this baby?!"

"No," Kuroo says resolutely, snatching the picture out of Bokuto's hands and holding it close to his chest.

"Kuroo!" Bokuto whines, "I wanted to put it on the fridge!"

"You can't." Kuroo's tone is flat.

"Why not?"

"Because we're having a party tonight," Akaashi cuts in, "And if anyone looks at our refrigerator, they're going to wonder why we have a sonogram stuck to it."

"And since neither of you guys can get pregnant, that only leaves one option for who it belongs to." Kuroo puts his hand on your thigh and rubs his thumb in circles.

It's supposed to be a comforting gesture, but it does nothing to quell the sudden panic growing in your chest. The guys continue to talk, but you don't hear what they're saying as you stare at the floor in front of you. You hadn't thought much about the party tonight, but now you start to think of all the ways people might figure out your situation. There's going to come a point where you won't be able to hide it anyway, but for now you'd like for it to be a secret.

Someone shaking your leg brings you back to reality, and you look up to see Kuroo's concerned face looking back at you.

"You okay?" he asks.

"Ah, yeah." You try to give a small smile. "Just tired."

His eyebrows come together, obviously not believing you, but he lets it go for now and goes back to talking with the guys.

You're about to get up and make the excuse of a nap so that you can hide in Kuroo's bedroom and panic when Bokuto starts shouting something about presents.

You'll just have to leave your worrying for later.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok, so this was supposed to come out ON kuroo's birthday, but that very obviously did not happen. kuroo's party was also supposed to be in this chapter, but I've been struggling with how exactly i want that to go so it will be where we start off next chapter. I've been feeling a lot of anxiety about this story, to the point where i completely paralyzed myself mentally and couldn't write. hopefully that doesn't happen again hahah. 
> 
> also, this is obviously my first time writing reader-insert, so if anyone has any tips or [constructive] criticisms, please feel free to share. you won't hurt my feelings, i promise. i'm a tough cookie.


	6. we like to party [part 1]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the party starts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, i'm not dead!
> 
> sorry for such a long break. life's been busy and hard.  
> this is just the first half of the chapter. i broke it up because i'm getting impatient. i'm very nearly finished the rest, so that will be posted either tomorrow or the next day. i just really don't want to post an 8000 word chapter.

You had escaped to Kuroo's bedroom with the excuse of having a nap as soon as he was done opening gifts. You'd been a little worried that he would try to come with you, but luckily he seemed to realise you needed some time alone.

So now you're lying on his bed, clutching a pillow in your arms with your face pressed into it, trying not to freak out about the party. Logically, you know that no one's going to find out that you're pregnant, but you've been so afraid of how people are going to react when they _do_ find out that it feels like any little thing will give it away. You're not ready for their judgement, or worse, pity.

You huff into the pillow and then pull your face away. You reach for your phone and open it, deciding to play some games or something to distract yourself. It works for the most part, and you lose yourself to mindless tapping.

Sometime later there's a knock on the door, pulling your attention away from your phone.

"Come in," you say, sitting up.

The door opens and in walks Kuroo – shirtless, wearing nothing but a pair of cheap hot pink plastic sunglasses and the red-trimmed shorts that you gave him. They're short and snug and look just as good as you imagined. He's also, you notice, holding the _World's Best Dad_ mug that Akaashi gave him.

He leans against the doorway and takes a swig of whatever's in the mug. After he swallows, he smacks his lips and says, "Hey pretty lady."

You snort. "Hi."

He saunters into the room, kicking the door closed behind him, and does a couple of turns. Once he's done showing off, he stops in front of you and strikes a supermodel pose.

"How do they look?"

You tilt your head and drag your eyes down his body, making sure to really emphasise it. Then you purse your lips and say, "Not too bad."

"Oh, come on." He steps closer to the bed and brandishes a hand up and down his body. "Even Akaashi gave me a wolf whistle." Then he puts his mug down on the desk and moves so he's standing right against the bed, both hands on his hips. "Admit it, I'm smokin' hot."

 Fighting a smile, you get up onto your knees and shuffle close to your boyfriend. He looks down at you over his sunglasses and raises an eyebrow. You run your hands down his bare stomach and angle your head to look up at him.

"Yeah, I guess you look pretty hot."

"You guess?" He asks.

"Mhhm," you say as you take off his sunglasses and toss them to the end of the bed.

He wraps his arms around you; one hand going to your lower back and the other tracing a line down your spine, sending a shiver through you. "Only pretty hot?" he murmurs.

"Mm," you hum, putting your arms around his neck as he brings his lips closer to yours.

He brushes he lips against yours, his eyes hooded. Then he slips a finger under the hem of your shirt to brush against your bare skin, which makes you inhale sharply.

He smirks against your mouth and purrs, "You sure kitten?"

"You're really hot, okay?" you relent. "Just shut up and kiss me."

He breathes a short laugh and then finally, finally presses his mouth to yours. His lips move slowly and firmly against yours, sending a pleasant warmth through your body. When he slips his tongue into your mouth you welcome it with a soft moan—and then you notice something that makes you pull back.

"Kuroo Tetsurou."

"Mm?" He looks at you with hazy eyes.

There's a smile in your voice when you ask, "Have you started drinking already?"

"Uh." He blinks and then bites his lip, laughing guiltily. "Yeah."

You lean to look around him at the mug on the desk. "So, in the mug...?"

"Is rum and coke, yes."

You look back at him. "Something seems kinda wrong about that, considering."

He looks over his shoulder and opens his mouth to speak but then closes it. He thinks a moment and his brow furrows. "Yeah, I think you're right."

That makes you giggle and he looks back at you with a smile and starts laughing too. He tightens his arms around you.

"Look," he says, "It was Akaashi's idea to pre-game a bit before the party, _and_ he was the one who poured the drinks, so it's not my fault."

With the mention of the party, you just drop your eyes and hum in acknowledgment, your fingers twining into the hair at the nape of Kuroo's neck.

You feel a hand smooth down your hair while Kuroo asks, "Did you have a nice nap?"

You sigh and pull away from Kuroo to fall sideways into the pillows.

 "I'll take that as a no," he says, crawling over you to lie down beside you. You roll onto your back so that you can look at him. He props himself up with one hand and rests the other on your stomach. "Did you sleep at all?"

"No."

"Were you worrying instead?"

"... Maybe."

His hand rubs circles into your stomach as he asks, "What's got you worried baby?"

A groan escapes you before you can stop it and you roll over to hide your face in the pillow. "This stupid party," you mumble, "I feel like everyone's going to know."

"That you're pregnant," he says.

"No, Tetsurou, that I'm an alien from another planet," you snap.

"Hey, hey." He rubs your back. "Don't snap at me, please. I just wanted to make sure I understood," he says gently.

"M'sorry." You let out a breath and then look up at him. "I just- what if people think it's weird that I'm not drinking? And that I've gained weight? Someone's bound to put two-and-two together."

Kuroo moves his hand from your back to your cheek.

"Okay, first of all," he says, "you are the only one that's noticed any weight that you've gained. You do not look pregnant by any stretch of the imagination." He brushes some hair from your face. "And second," he adds, "you will not be the only person not drinking; Bokuto will be sober too, and anyone who might be driving."

"Bokuto never drinks," you argue, "and I don't have to drive anywhere. People will think it's weird."

"Look, all you gotta do is walk around with a cup of pop in your hand. No one has to know that there's no alcohol mixed in with it."

"Yeah," you sigh, "I guess."

Kuroo starts running his hand up and down your arm. "I understand that you're nervous, baby, but it will be okay."

But the thing is, he doesn't understand, not truly, because guys don't think about this stuff. However, you know what girls can be like. More specifically, you know what the women's volleyball team can be like, and unfortunately, they're invited.

All it will take is one of them even just suspecting it. Then they'll tell the rest of the team, and they'll gossip about it. After that they'll start paying closer attention to you, trying to see if there are any more signs, and in your case, they'll find them. And the women's volleyball team won't hesitate to talk about it like it's their business, so soon enough it will spread to the men's team. Then it won't be long until everyone in yours and Kuroo's social group knows about it. 

And you won't be able to deny it.

You are not ready for that.

But Kuroo's probably right; all you'll have to do is just keep a drink in your hand. It's not that unusual for you to go light on the drinking, so hopefully no one takes notice. You're still stressed about it, but it's not like you can just not go to the party. That would be even more suspicious.

"And if anyone were to say anything," Kuroo continues, pulling you from your thoughts, "you know that I'd stick up for you, right?"

The corners of your lips lift into a smile and you bring your hand up to brush Kuroo's fringe out of his eyes. "I know that."

"Good," he says and then leans down to kiss your cheek.

You place your hand on his face and pull him into a real kiss. It doesn't last very long, but it's soft and warm and still makes your stomach flutter.

"So," you stay, trailing your hand down his side until it reaches the waistband of his shorts. "Is this how you're dressing for the party?" You punctuate the last word with a snap of the elastic band.

"What? Do you think it's too much?"

"I don't think 'too much' is your problem, Tetsu."

He smirks. "Worried someone's gonna see my delectable ass in these tiny shorts and try to whisk me away into the sunset?"

You shrug. "They'll just bring you back the minute you start talking."

Kuroo squawks and you roll out of bed as you laugh.

"That is rude!"

You continue laughing while you walk to the bedroom door.

"I am the birthday boy!" he calls after you.

"Put on some clothes, Tetsurou," you say before walking out the door.

 

Two hours later the apartment is filled with people, most from the men's and women's volleyball teams, but also some old friends from high school. The music is blasting, it's a little crowded, and everyone around you is at least two drinks in.

"AYYYY!!!!! Bokuto Koutarou, you are the **best** pong partner a man could hope for, and I love you."

Or there's your boyfriend, who's in at least four.

You watch across the table that's serving as a beer pong court as Kuroo takes Bokuto by the cheeks and plants a kiss on his lips.

"Aw, I love you too bro!" Koutarou grins from ear to ear. "But Keiji might murder you if you kiss me again."

Beside you Keiji takes a sip of his drink and raises a menacing eyebrow at Kuroo. Akaashi also happens to be a few drinks in already, and you wonder when he's going to start telling everyone that he loves them. He's always been a lightweight.

"Come on, 'Kaash, you don't mind sharin', right?" Your boyfriend smirks and slings an arm around Bokuto's shoulders. "All four of us could hook up, it'd be great."

You rest your hands on the table and lean forward to regard Kuroo. "As tempting as sex with three incredibly hot dudes sounds," you say, "Bokkun here is about as straight as a rainbow coloured anal dildo. I just don't think he'd have any fun with me."

Bokuto bursts into laughter and you hear, "She's not wrong," from Akaashi beside you. Kuroo looks back at you, his mouth tight and eyes bright like he's trying not to laugh.

You rest your forearm on Akaashi's shoulder and lean into him. Just as Kuroo brings his drink to his lips you add, "Besides, Keiji-kun and I already got experimenting out of the way in high school."

Kuroo promptly chokes on his drink. Beer drips down his chin as he sputters and stares at you with wide eyes. Bokuto has also stopped laughing and is wearing a similar expression as his eyes flit between you and Akaashi.

You stare back at them with a straight face for a few moments until you can't take it anymore and start laughing. They both visibly relax and it just makes you laugh harder, pressing your face into Akaashi's arm as you do.

Akaashi looks down at you with a vaguely amused expression. "For a moment I was worried that we had a sexual history I wasn't aware of."  

"Keiji, there's pictures of us in diapers together," you say as you peer up at him, "I've seen you pick up dog poop and try to give it to your mom as a gift. There's no part of me that wants to have sex with you."

You hear Kuroo's trademark donkey cackle from across the table.

"And I've been there when you wet the bed – on several occasions, actually." He leans down and kisses the top of your head—oh, he's definitely on his way to tipsy—and then says, "The feeling is mutual."

With a smile you give him a pat on the shoulder and then pull away to walk around the table to your boyfriend. The second you're close enough he wraps an arm around you and pulls you close.

"You used to wet the bed?" is the first thing out of his mouth.

"Not important," you say dismissively, "I'm gonna go mingle or whatever. Try not to get too obliterated, okay?"

"You got it, baby," he says, wearing a lazy grin.

All you can do is shake your head, knowing full well that he's probably going to end up trashed.

"Okay big guy," you say with a pat to his chest. You start to walk away but he catches your hand and pulls you back gently.

"Hey," he says, his expression bordering on serious, "You good?"

You melt a little inside and smile at him. "Yeah, I'm good."

And it's true. The party has actually managed to serve as a distraction from all of you problems. Although, the worst of the women's volleyball team hasn't shown up yet, but you're choosing not to think about that.

"Good," he says and then bends down to kiss you. When he straightens up he lets you go and throws his hands in the air. "Alright, Oikawa Tooru, where are you? I swear that I'm gonna make you lose at least once tonight!"

"In your dreams you giant mouth with legs!" is called from somewhere in the apartment.

"Bring it on pretty boy!"

On that note, you leave Kuroo to his grudge match with Oikawa, and start wondering through the crowd of people. Before you start socializing with anyone, you make a round of the apartment to make sure nothing's been broken yet. When you find everything in its right place, you go to the kitchen to refill your pop. That's when you realise it's suddenly become much too warm for the sweater that you're currently wearing, so you go to Kuroo's room to find a different shirt to put on. That's where you find a surprise:

"Hitoka!"

The small blonde jumps where she's sitting in Kuroo's desk chair.

"Oh!" she chirps your name and hops out of the chair. "Sorry! Kuroo-san told me that I could come in here to take a breather from the party. I was getting overwhelmed out there, b-but I can leave right now if y—"

"No, no!" You wave your hands in front of you. "It's totally fine! I'm glad Tetsu let you chill out in here. I'm just getting a lighter shirt to wear."

You shut the door behind you and go to your shelf in Kuroo's closet. "Are you here with Tsukishima?" you say over your shoulder.

"Ah, yes I am."

You grab a light, loose tunic-type t-shirt to throw on over your leggings and turn back to her, placing your drink on the desk.

"Did Yama-kun come with you guys?" you ask.

"No, he's overloaded with assignments right now, so he stayed home." She clasps her hands behind her back. "We won't be here long anyway. Kei said he just needed to make an appearance." She giggles. "He likes parties less than I do."

You lift your sweater off over your head and toss it towards the closet. "I was surprised when I heard that he was coming."

A fond smile graces Yachi's face as she stares toward the door. "He cares about Kuroo-san a lot, even if he acts indifferent."

Yachi disappears from view a moment as you pull your shirt over your head. When she's back in view you say, "I've always known that he had a soft spot for Tetsurou."

"Kuroo-san's pretty easy to like," she says kindly, "Well, once you get past... erm..."

"His big mouth and obsessive meddling?" you provide, pulling your shirt the rest of the way down.

She laughs and looks back at you. "I was going to say how tall and intimidating he is."

"Oh." You laugh sheepishly. "Yeah, that too."

You look down at your body, smoothing out the shirt and making sure it doesn't cling where you really don't want it to.

"Does this look okay?" you ask Yachi, turning sideways. "Like, I don't look like I'm—" you cut yourself off.

"Look like you're what?"

"Ah, nothing." You do a small spin. "Just, does this look okay?"

"Yeah! You look great," she says with a smile.

"Awesome, okay." You nod and smile back.

You've always liked Yachi. She's probably the nicest person you've ever met, and you never would have thought that someone could have rivaled Bokuto in that department. Suddenly you feel the urge to blurt out _I'm pregnant!_ just so that someone outside of your small circle would know; so that you would have a girl to talk to about it. You start to open your mouth when suddenly there's a knock on the door. When you open it you're met by a blonde beanpole with glasses.

"Tsukishima!"

"Oh, um hi." He pushes up is glasses. "I was looking for Hitoka."

You move to the side as Yachi approaches the door.

"Are you ready to go?" she asks her boyfriend.

"Oh, dear lord, yes," he answers.

"What's wrong?" You smirk. "Sick of Tetsurou and Bokuto already?"

He looks at you dryly. "You have no idea."

You snort. "I practically live with the two of them," you say, "Trust me, I do."

The corner of his mouth twitches into a smirk. "Yes, I suppose that's true." Then he looks down—way down—at Yachi. "Please, let's get out of here while we still can."

"Okay," she chirps and takes his hand.

"Wait," you say, looking at Tsukishima suspiciously. "What do you mean while you _still_ can?"

"Oh, the rest of the women's volleyball team showed up a couple of minutes ago." He makes a displeased face. "And of course the entire men's team, excluding myself, got all rowdy, demanding they play some sort of drinking game. I think they wanted to do the men's team versus the women's or something like that, so I'd like to leave before they try to drag me into it."

"Great." You roll your eyes. "Well, then yes _leave while you still can._ " You make a shuffling motion with your hand.

They step out of the doorway and you follow them, closing the door behind you. You say your goodbyes and then they head to the door. Their path is fairly clear considering most people are crowded around the dinner table.  

You wait a minute, take a deep breath, and then head over to see what's going on. The sounds of cheering reach your ears even over the loud music. You squeeze past a couple of people until you can clearly see the table; Kuroo and Akaashi, who must be filling in for Bokuto, are on one side of the table, and on the other side is the captain of the women's team, Nakajima Kasumi, and one of the other girls on the team. They're playing Four Corners, and by looking at the score chart on the white board that's hung on the wall—the grocery list that was there before having been wiped off—it looks like they're doing some sort of tournament.

Just watching your boyfriend chug his beer makes you want to throw up. If you weren't currently _with child_ , you'd have no problem with it. But seeing as you _are_ , it makes your stomach roil. So, you decide that you're _not_ going to watch, because running to the bathroom to puke when you haven't actually drank anything would be embarrassing—well— _more_ embarrassing.

You free yourself from the crowd, wondering if there's anyone around that you like who's not watching the Four Corners battle. That's when you hear your name being called. You turn toward the voice and see Suga sitting on the couch, waving you over. A huge smile spreads across your face and you rush over to plop down beside him.

"Suga, hi!" you say, giving him a hug.

He hugs you back and throws you a dazzling smile when he pulls away. "Hi, how are you?"

"I'm okay. What about you? Why aren't you over there watching the games? I thought you loved competition and blood-shed."

His laugh rings like bells through the air. "I'm good, thank you." He looks over at the commotion coming from the tournament and then looks back at you. "I do love competition and blood-shed, but I prefer to participate rather than watch, and to be completely honest with you, I don't really like your university's women's volleyball team."

God bless Sugawara Koushi.

"Can I ask why?" you say, leaning toward him conspiratorially.

"As if you can't guess!" he laughs. "I'm sure you have the exact same problem that I do. They just gravitate toward Daichi like flies to honey."

You snort.

"Sorry," he says, grinning wickedly, "That was rude." He takes a long sip of his drink, which you're guessing is probably straight vodka or something because Suga is crazy. "To be fair, a couple of them are actually quite nice, but..."

"But the few that aren't nice just so happen to be awful instead," you continue for him.

"Exactly!" he says brightly.

You huff. "Yeah..."

It's not that you're a particularly jealous person. You've been with Kuroo since your last year of high school—that's nearly three years now. You're pretty secure in your relationship. However, some of the girls, namely the captain, just really don't like you. It's crossed your mind that they probably think he should be with an athlete or something, which is ridiculous because even though you don't play volleyball competitively anymore, you did grow up playing it with Akaashi, and just so happened to be on Fukurodani's girl's team for a year before an injury forced you to quit. After that, you started managing the boy's team instead. Despite that, every time you've had to interact with them, they've treated you like you don't know anything about the sport. Like you have no business hanging around the men's team just because you're not varsity.

It's frustrating.

"So," Suga speaks up, "You're not drinking tonight?" He nods down at your hands.

You look down. "Oh." You must have left your drink in the bedroom. "No, I guess I'm not."

He chuckles. "Did you forget that you weren't drinking?"

"What? No," you scoff lightly, "I did have a drink. I just left it somewhere."

"Want me to go get you another one?" he asks, starting to stand.

"No!" You throw your arm out to stop him. "It's fine. I-I'm not really feeling the whole alcohol thing tonight anyway."

"Oh." Suga blinks at your arm and settles back down. "Okay, that's fine."

There's a bit of an awkward silence after that. You start fidgeting with your fingers, the anxiety that you felt earlier in the day coming back in full force, but then Suga manages to pick the conversation right back up.

You guys chat for a while until there's suddenly a shout from the kitchen.

"Oi! Bokuto! What the fuck do you guys have a 'World's Best Dad' mug for?"

Ice runs up your spine and your eyes shoot open wide.

That mug was supposed to be hidden somewhere.

Oh shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there is smut next chapter, so look forward to that haha


	7. we like to party [part 2]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the party continues, and then some

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and here's the rest of it! it will be edit later today after i've gotten some sleep.
> 
> [btw here's a revision i made on the last chapter: "which is ridiculous because even though you don't play volleyball competitively anymore, you did grow up playing it with Akaashi, and just so happened to be on Fukurodani's girl's team for a year before an injury forced you to quit. After that, you started managing the boy's team instead." i meant to change this before i posted but forgot.] 
> 
> enjoy~

_"Oi! Bokuto! What the fuck do you guys have a 'World's Best Dad' mug for?"_

_Ice runs up your spine and your eyes shoot open wide._

_That mug was supposed to be hidden somewhere._

_Oh shit._

 

 

"Dude!" Bokuto shouts at the guy. "Why the fuck are you going through our cupboards?"

"We were looking for shot glasses!" the guy yells.

"Well just ask!"

"Okay, but we still wanna know why you have this."

There's a pause, and for that brief moment you feel like you're going to suffocate, until:

"S'mine," a _very_ _not sober_ looking Akaashi finally says.

You swallow. The guy in the kitchen laughs.

"Was it some kinda joke or somethin'?"

"Mm, sort of," Akaashi drawls, now hanging off of Koutarou like a necklace. "Kuroo-san bought it for me 'cause he found out that Koutarou—" he strokes a finger down Bokuto's cheek as if to emphasise his name—"sometimes likes to call me _Daddy_ when we fuck."

The room is dead quiet for a few very uncomfortable moments, and then suddenly a familiar cackle breaks through the silence. Now that Kuroo's seemingly broken the ice, more laughter joins.

You hear someone shout, "Dude, gross!"

Another yells, "What the fuck man!"

And someone else hollers, "Akaashi! Nice!" 

All of it is of course mixed in with a very loud, "AGHaaAAAAAaaSHiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!"

Finally, your muscles start to thaw and your lungs fill with air. You could kiss your best friend right now. It amazes you that even drunk he can still think so fast on his feet. Of course, you now owe Bokuto big time. Maybe you'll make him a cake or something.

You let out a breath and look back over at Suga, who's watching you carefully. He opens his mouth to say something, but then stops, his eyes flicking up to something behind you. A moment later there's a hand petting through your hair. You tilt your head back against the couch to find Kuroo peering down at you. His cheeks are rosy and his eyes heavy.

"Hi," he says, cupping your cheeks with his hands.

"Hey there."

He leans forward to give you an upside-down kiss. His lips are hot, and when he pulls back, keeping his face just inches from your own, you can smell the alcohol strong on his breath.

"You're drunk," you say.

He presses his lips to yours again and hums. "Just a little."

"Just a little?" you echo.

"Mhhm." He plants more kisses to your face and lips, removing his hands from your cheeks to drape his arms over your shoulders.

"Is your little tournament already over?" you ask, trying not to sound hopeful.

"Yeah, everyone was getting bored of it." He brushes his nose against yours. "Plus the girls kept beating us."

You bring a hand up to pat a pink cheek. "Aw, that must have been hard for you guys."

"I'm heartbroken," he pouts. Then he leans forward even further, kissing at your neck, and then brings his lips close to your ear. "Are you okay?" he murmurs lowly.

You assume he's referring to the mug incident.

"Yeah, I'm fine," you say just as quietly, angling your face away from Suga and closer to Kuroo.

"M'sorry," he mumbles, "I thought it would be fine way in the back."

"It's okay, Tetsu." You nuzzle your face against his cheek. "I'm fine, honest."

"Okay, good." He places more kisses to your neck and then you feel his hand caress your stomach. You tense because you can feel Suga's eyes on you.

Damn Kuroo and his affectionate, sentimental drunk ass.

Said drunk ass presses yet another kiss to your cheek and then pulls back.

"I gotta pee, but I'll be right back."

"Have a good time," you say.

"I'll try." He stands up straight and then sends a salute to Suga before walking away.

You watch him head down the hallway and take a deep, clarifying breath before daring to glance over at Suga again. He's leaning one arm on the backrest and smiling at you gently.  

Damn Suga and his beautiful brown perceptive eyes.

Damn everything.

He starts to say something, but once again, by the Grace of some unknown force, you are rescued by another drunken idiot. Akaashi appears, like an angel, for the second time tonight with Bokuto in tow. He cries your name happily and bends down to wrap you in one of his famous drunk hugs.

He chants your name a couple more times and then says, "I love you, y'know."

You return his embrace with a laugh. "I know. I love you too."

He gives you a sloppy kiss on the cheek. "You're my – my _best_ friend."

"I know, Keiji." You rub is his back.

"An' you're gonna be okay, okay? I know you are."

You try very hard not to sigh heavily. "Thank you, Keiji."

Then he's being pulled off of you gently by his boyfriend. "Okaaaay, drunkie. That's enough."

"I'm gonna get 'nother drink," Akaashi announces with a slight slur to his words, and starts towards the kitchen.

"Ohhh no you're not." Bokuto captures him by the waist and pulls him back. "You're cut off."

Akaashi's brow furrows. "Why?"

"Well, it has nothing to do with the fact that you told everyone I have a daddy kink, that's for sure."

A giggle falls off Keiji's lips and he turns to hold Bokuto's face in his hands. "Are you mad?

"No," Bokuto pouts, "And that's the thing! I _can't_ be mad about it!"

Akaashi giggles again, pulling Bokuto in for a kiss. It's cute at first, until they start full on making out in front of you and Suga. The two of you glance at each other awkwardly; however Suga looks far more amused than you are.

They finally break apart after Suga discretely clears his throat.

"What am I gonna do you with you Keiji?" Bokuto sighs.

"Take me to the bedroom and fuck me until I can't walk," Akaashi answers.

Suga bursts into laughter beside you.

But Bokuto, who you know is far too used to this, just shakes his head and starts dragging Akaashi away.

"Sorry guys," he calls over his shoulder, "I gotta take care of this."

They head toward the hallway, and you think you hear a hushed, "No, you're too drunk. We're sticking to hand stuff."

You can't help but snicker at your friend's shamelessness. Suga's laughter starts to die down until it's quiet between you again.

"Hey," Suga says eventually, "What's your major again?"

"Oh," You glance up at him, "I'm still undeclared." _And will probably remain undeclared for the rest of my life_ , you think.

"Ah, okay," he says, nodding in understanding. "Well, have I ever told you that my mom teaches at your university?"

"No, you haven't," you reply, "That's really cool."

"Yeah, it is." He looks ahead and smiles thoughtfully. "And really impressive, considering she got pregnant with me when she was 18."

A lump forms in your throat. You wait for Suga to look at you and ask the question you know he's thinking, but he just continues to look ahead as he says, "She didn't have it easy, but she made it through." That's when he looks at you with a huge grin. "My mom's a badass."

You breathe a laugh, your eyes stinging a little. "Sounds like it."

"Oh look, there's Kuroo," he says, looking past you. "I'm gonna go pry Daichi away from his admirers."

He stands up, throws you a wink, and then walks away.

Sometimes you wondered who Suga sold his soul to for his magical powers.

When you see Kuroo walking toward you, you stand from the couch to meet him. He gives you a very obvious once over, his crooked grin setting off butterflies in your stomach. You reach out your hands and he takes them, weaving his fingers between yours as he steps closer to you.

"Hey hot stuff," he purrs.

You roll your eyes with a smile. "So, how drunk are you?"

"Hmm." He looks up as if trying to gauge his drunkenness. "On a scale of 1 to Akaashi, I'd say I'm about a 5."

"That's all, huh?" you tease.

"The night is still young, my love," he says grandly, taking his hands out of yours and wrapping his arms around your waist instead. "There's plenty of time to get fucked up."

You rest your hands on his chest and scrunch up your face in faux irritation. "You're so whiny when you have a hangover, though."

Kuroo doesn't even deny it, just smiles mischievously, bending down to kiss your cheek. He stays there close to your ear and says, "And you wouldn't have any sympathy for me while I was puking my guts out, would you?"

After what you've been through the last couple of weeks? "Definitely not."

He chuckles lowly and kisses your neck. "Didn't think so," he murmurs against your skin.

It sends a small shiver through you and you bite your lip. Kuroo tucks your hair behind your ear and then continues to press warm kisses to your neck and jaw. When he takes your earlobe between his teeth and lightly nibbles, you giggle and push his face away.

"Behave," you warn him.

He leans back in with his annoyingly sexy grin and heavy eyelids and whispers, "Why?"

You can't help but giggle again, because that's what drunk Kuroo Tetsurou does to you—melts you into a giggling puddle. "Because we're in a room full of people," you answer, running your hands down his sides.

"That can change," he purrs.

You lean back to see his face properly.

The look in his eyes is downright provocative; it makes heat curl in your stomach, and your heart start to beat faster.

And then, because he's Kuroo, he waggles is eyebrows in the most unattractive way possible. 

"Stoooop!" you cry, breaking into laughter. "Oh my god, you're ridiculous."

He laughs along with you, squeezing you tight and pressing his face into your neck. His enthusiasm nearly tips the both of you over, which only makes both of you giggle more. You haven't had a lick of alcohol, but Kuroo's affection and silliness makes you feel giddy. You're about to pull him up into a kiss when a voice interrupts you:

"Oi! Kuroo!" calls Nakajima Kasumi, "We need another player. You up for it?"

You look over your shoulder and see the women's captain and some other people standing around the table.

"Ah, sorry guys, but I'm done with the drinking games tonight," Kuroo calls back. He wraps his arm around your neck and lays his head on top of yours. "Also, I am very much occupiiiieeed."

"Whipped!" one of the guys shouts. The others laugh and Nakajima looks you up and down with something vaguely nasty in her eyes before turning back to the table.

Kuroo rolls his eyes at them and then brings his attention back to you.

"Sorry, kitten." He lays a lingering kiss to your lips. "Where were we?"

You grip his t-shirt and tug on it gently. "Mmm, you were just about to take me to your bedroom."

His mouth quirks and his eyebrow arches. "Oh, was I?"

You bite your lip and let it drag out from your teeth, looking up at him through your eyelashes. "Yeah."

Kuroo chuckles as he pulls you into a heated kiss. You reciprocate it eagerly, tilting your head so that he can kiss you deeper. His tongue flicks into your mouth briefly before he, to your dissatisfaction, pulls away. You're about to complain when he takes your hand, throws you a wink, and starts pulling you toward the hallway. You follow without hesitation.

Just before you guys reach his door, you run into Bokuto as he's leaving the bathroom.

"Hey, hey, hey!" He grins and wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. "Where're you two goin'?"

Kuroo snorts. "Where's your dear Keiji?"

"Passed the fuck out," Bokuto says. "One mind-blowing blowjob and he was gone."

"Thanks for that last bit there, Bo," Kuroo says dryly.

Bokuto ignores him. "So, birthday sex, huh?"

Kuroo shoves Bokuto, almost sending him into the wall. "Go make sure no one breaks our table again."

Bokuto throws his hands in the air, laughing. "Alright, alright!" He drops one hand to Kuroo's shoulder, leans in, and says, "Don't forget to wrap it, eh?"

This time Kuroo does send him into the wall. Bokuto recovers quickly and walks away howling with laughter.

When he's gone Kuroo looks down at you and asks, "Why do I live with such assholes?"

You shrug. "Maybe it's because you have a lot in common with them?"

"Excuse you!" He steps behind you and grabs you by the waist, wiggling his fingers. "I am a fuckin' delight."

You squeal and squirm in his arms, giggling when he starts pushing you forward until you're in front of the door. He reaches around you to open it and you both stumble in. The sound of the door shutting is followed by the click of a lock, and then Kuroo's spinning you around. He bends down slightly to grab your thighs, and a surprised noise leaves your mouth when he suddenly hoists you up. You have to throw your arms and legs around him to keep from falling.

"Tetsu!" you cry, breaking into laughter when he snickers and starts walking toward the bed.

You think he's going to drop you onto the bed, but instead he turns and sits down on the end of it, resting you in his lap. His arms are strong and secure around you, making you feel warm.

"What was all that for?" you ask with a fond smile, fingers finding their way into his hair like they so often do.

He shrugs. "Seemed sexy and romantic."

"You're a goof."

"I know," he says with a huge grin and then leans in to kiss you.

From there things get hot and heavy fast. Kuroo's hands wind up under your shirt in no time, feeling you up with his rough hands. The kissing gets sloppier and more desperate as you work each other up. Soon you find yourself grinding down in his lap as best you can, feeling him quickly growing hard under his jeans.

"Fuck," he gasps, moving to love at your neck with his hot mouth.

You moan when his hand slips down to grip your ass firmly.

"You're so fuckin' sexy, baby," he growls into your neck.

"Ah, Tetsu," you whine, tugging on his hair to pull him off of your neck and give him a searing kiss. When you break away you slink off of his lap, running a hand down his stomach as you do, to kneel on the floor between his legs.

"Shit," you hear whispered above you.

You kiss his stomach a few times, caressing his thighs with your hands, before you start to unbuckle his belt. When that's done you move on to his button and then his zipper, looking up seductively through your eyelashes as you slowly drag it down. He watches you with hungry eyes, his bottom lip caught between his teeth. With his fly open you're able to palm his arousal through the fabric of his underwear. He sucks in a breath at your touch, rocking up just slightly into the pressure of your hand. You pull your hand away and instead lean down to mouth at the outline of his cock. You hear Kuroo swear again and then feel his hand on the back of your head, smoothing down your hair. On any other day, you would tease him like this for a while longer, until he was begging for more, but since it's his birthday, you decide not to torture him.

With your fingers hooked underneath the waistbands of his pants and boxer-briefs, you start to tug. Kuroo lifts his hips so that you can pull them both down, just enough to free his cock. When Kuroo settles back down, you wrap your fingers around his length and give it a couple strokes.

 "Please, baby," he says, voice rough.

A smirk plays on your lips. "Anything for the birthday boy," you say before licking a strip up the underside of his dick, stopping to press your tongue into the sweet spot just under the head. There's a shaky exhale above you, so you continue to work your mouth up and down his cock, getting him nice and wet with your spit. When you finally take the head into your mouth, you suck gently and moan at the feeling of him on your tongue.

Kuroo makes a soft aroused sound and his fingers start to comb through your hair again.

Taking that as encouragement, you circle your tongue around the head of his cock before slowly sinking down to take more of him into your mouth. With hollowed cheeks you suck and pull back up.

"Hn-ah, that's it kitten." He keeps your hair back from your face with one hand and strokes his fingers down your jaw with the other.

Soon you get yourself into a rhythm, sucking and bobbing, working what you don't take into your mouth with your hand instead. On one particularly hard suck, Kuroo moans and bends over you, gripping your hair. With his pleasure comes your own, and you hum around his cock in satisfaction, feeling yourself getting wetter.

"Shit," he breathes out your name, "You're so good, baby."

You pop of his dick, tilt your head to the side, and bend down more to take one of his balls into your mouth, sucking on it gently.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck – oh shit!"

You lick back up his cock and then suckle at the head some more, squeezing your hand a little as you stroke him. You can taste pre-cum on your tongue, and it turns you on even more.

"Hah- ah," Kuroo says your name and pulls gently on your hair. You pull off and look up at him. "Come here," he says.

You stand up and he shifts back on the bed so that you can straddle him again. As soon as you're in his lap he's kissing you again, rough and heated. He wastes no time slipping his hand down the front of your leggings, stroking over your slit with his fingers. You moan into his mouth at the touch.

"God, baby you're so wet," he murmurs against your lips. He dips a finger in your folds to collect some of your emission before stroking up to circle your clit. "So wet for me."

You gasp and tuck your face into his neck.

With his other arm wrapped securely around you, he continues to work your clit, occasionally slipping his finger down to tease at your entrance. Soon enough you are soaking and desperate, writhing in his lap.

"Tetsu," you whine, "I want you inside me."

"How do you want me?" he asks, still rubbing your clit.

"Mmm, I want – hah – I want you to fuck me from behind," you answer.

"Fuck," Kuroo growls, his hand stilling. "Fuck, yeah okay."

He pulls his hand out of your pants and quickly cleans his fingers off with his mouth. Then he slips his hand under your ass and stands up, spinning around to kneel on the bed and lay you down on your back. He crawls over top of you, kissing up your chest and neck sloppily on his way to your lips. After one long, wet, hot kiss, he pulls back and pats your hip.

"Roll that sweet ass over," he drawls.

You huff a short laugh and roll your eyes before turning over onto your stomach. Kuroo shuffles back and sits up on his knees. He grabs onto your hips and urges them up. You comply by getting up onto all fours. Kuroo trails kisses down your back as he drags your leggings and panties down over your ass. He pushes up your shirt to kiss bare skin, each press of his lips sending tingles up your spine. When he reaches the small of your back, you think he's going to stop, but instead he continues to kiss and mouth wetly over the swell of your ass.

You make an impatient sound. "Tetsurou."

You hear a snicker and then hands are spreading your cheeks apart and a tongue is licking up your slit.

"Fuck," you moan and jolt, "Tetsurou just fuck me."

There's another kiss to your ass cheek and then a light slap. "Alright, alright."

"Wait," you say when you feel him lining himself up. He stops and you look over your shoulder to say, "Condom."

"Uh, babe," he says, looking confused, "I already got you pregnant, and I uh, don't think that's how twins work."

"Not for that," you laugh. "I don't want to deal with a mess if we're going back out there."

Understanding dawns on his face. "Oh, right."

The mattress dips further as Kuroo leans over the side of the bed to wrench open one of the drawers that are underneath it. You hear him rummaging and then the sound of a box being hastily torn open. There's a little more fumbling and then Kuroo's sitting back up on his knees, condom packet in hand.

"You know," he says, tearing it open, "it's kinda funny that I had a huge unopened box of condoms in there."

"That is _not_ funny, Tetsurou."

"It's a little funny."

You have to bite your lip to hold in a laugh, because really, it's hilarious—in a sad sort of way. There's nothing that you can say to that, so instead you shake your head and stay quiet, waiting for Kuroo to hurry up and fuck you already.

"Alright," Kuroo says, and you feel the mattress move as he gets close behind you again, "wrapped and ready."

This time you do laugh, because no matter how sexy your boyfriend is, he's still a massive dork. Your laughter, however, is short-lived, choking off with a moan as Kuroo pushes into you, and you know without looking at him that he's smirking. His hands find your hips in a firm grip, the demanding pressure of his fingers bringing your focus back to the swirling heat in your belly. You feel a kiss pressed between your shoulder blades, and then, he's moving.

And holy fuck it feels good.

"Ohmyfuckinggodyou'resotightlikethis," Kuroo mutters.

It's true. With the way that your legs are still slightly restricted by your pants, your thighs are adding extra resistance, and it makes everything so much hotter. The drag of Kuroo's cock, the way he fills you, feels incredible.

He starts out steady, not going as deep as he could, as if he's trying to work you up. That's usually great and all, but right now you want fast and hard. So, with each of his thrusts you start pushing back against him.

"Ah- fuck," Kuroo gasps.

You feel the heat radiating off of his body as he leans over your back, one of his arms wrapping around your waist, and his breath fanning over your neck.

"You want more, baby? Is that it?" he asks in a low voice.

His hips start picking up speed and all you can do is breathe out a, "yes."

"Yeah?" he nearly growls. "Do you want it harder?" He punctuates his question with a deep thrust. 

"Yeah," you whine.

The arm around your waist tightens and Kuroo starts driving into you harder and faster and oh fuck it's so good. You drop down to rest on your forearms for more stability, and it's simultaneously a great and horrible decision; with the shift in angle, you can feel Kuroo's cock slamming into your cervix with each thrust, the pleasure of which is literally causing your soul to leave your body, but with that pleasure comes loud, high-pitched moaning that you can't control. Despite the pure bliss that is racking your brain, you're still somewhat conscious of the fact that there are a lot of other people in this apartment who, even with the loud music, can probably hear you. So you reach a shaky arm out to grab a pillow, pull it close, and shove your face into it to muffle your cries.

It's a miracle that you don't suffocate yourself.

The air fills with the lewd sound of skin slapping against skin as Kuroo plows into you relentlessly. Your insides feel tender and raw, every nerve lighting up with each drag and thrust of Kuroo's cock. It's so good; you can't imagine it feeling any better.

Until Kuroo slides his hand down and starts fingering your clit.

It tears a moan from your throat that you just barely cover up with the pillow, and your pussy squeezes reflexively around Kuroo. His hips stutter and he gasps above you.

"Fuck, you can't start that shit yet," he groans. "I will come way too quickly."

That's not something that you're concerned about at all. Kuroo is getting you there, and he is getting you there _fast._ Your pussy is pulsing with your impending orgasm, the muscles in your thighs and stomach tightening and trembling. So you squeeze again and again, increasing the pressure of Kuroo's cock on your walls, the friction of which bringing you even closer.

Kuroo growls your name like a warning, the hand on your hip gripping tighter, but you ignore him. You're so close. The combination of Kuroo's fingers on your clit and the constant abuse to your cervix has you right on the edge of climax. Just. Right. On the. Edg—

"M'gonna—" is all you manage to choke out before you're coming _hard_ , muffling a scream into the pillow as your entire being shakes apart; wave after wave of pleasure crashing over you. Kuroo fucks you through it, his cock stimulating you further, to the point where it's almost too much. The aftershocks of your orgasm make everything feel a hundred times more. Just when you think you can't bear anymore, you hear Kuroo swear, driving his cock into you with one final thrust as he comes too.  

You're both still for a few moments afterward, catching your breath. When Kuroo finally pulls out you feel a little empty. He pulls up your panties and leggings for you and then lays a kiss to your spine before righting your shirt. After that you drop onto the bed with a satisfied sigh, your eyelids falling closed. The bed lifts as Kuroo gets off to take care of the condom. A few seconds later you hear a zip and the clinking of a belt, and then you feel Kuroo drop onto the bed beside you.

"Holy shit," he breathes.

"Happy birthday," you mumble.

"Technically it's not my birthday anymore," he replies cheekily.

"So should I have not fucked you?"

"No, no, no. You definitely should have." Kuroo drapes himself over top of you. "I am very grateful."

You hum a sleepy laugh. "Better be."

It's quiet for a moment.

"Are you falling asleep?" Kuroo asks.

"Mhhm."

"But the party isn't over," he teases.

"Shut up," you huff, squirming to get Kuroo off of you. "This is the latest I've stayed up in a long time. My body can't handle it right now."

Kuroo kisses your cheek. "It's okay, kitten. Bokuto can be my arm candy for the rest of the night."

"Okay."

Kuroo plants several kisses onto your shoulder. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." You smile. "Now go party."

"Yes ma'am!" he says and rolls out of the bed.

You watch him saunter to the door and throw a wink at you before he walks out and shuts it behind him. You know that Kuroo's reached the living room when you hear muffled whoops and cheers through the wall.

After that you throw off your leggings and slide your bra out from under your t-shirt before crawling under the covers.  Within minutes, you're asleep.

 

And then, in what feels like minutes later, you're woken by the sound of people stumbling loudly through the door. You force your eyes open and blink a few times to adjust to the dark. What you finally see is Bokuto half dragging a very drunk Kuroo through the door.

 "Alright buddy," Bokuto says, "let's get you into bed."

"But I wanna cel'brate more," Kuroo slurs.

You sit up and turn on the lamp. Bokuto casts you an apologetic look.

"I think you've celebrated enough," he says to Kuroo.

Kuroo shakes his head and opens his mouth like he's about to argue, but when he sees you he stops and breaks into a sloppy grin. "There's my baby," Kuroo gushes and then his face brightens. "Both my babies!"

Your heart stops a moment at how loud Kuroo says that, but then Bokuto says, "Everyone's gone, don't worry."

You let out a breath and then smile at your boyfriend. "Hey sweetheart, you're pretty drunk, huh?"

"Jus' a little," Kuroo admits.

"Okay, sure," you humour him. "Why don't you let Bokkun help you out of your clothes?"

Kuroo snickers and turns to Bokuto, still leaning on him heavily. "Wouldn' be the first time you stripped a dude."

Bokuto snorts and pats Kuroo's stomach. "You're funnier when you're sober."

Kuroo makes some sort of offended noise but allows Bokuto to start stripping him down anyway. There's a lot of stumbling and giggling on Kuroo's part, but Bokuto manages.

Once Kuroo's in just his boxer-briefs you shift over on the bed so that Bokuto can help him under the covers. Kuroo beams lazily up at Bokuto. "Do I get a g'night kiss?"

Bokuto rolls his eyes but bends down and places a kiss on Kuroo's forehead. "Go to sleep jackass," he says, and then he looks to you. "Good luck."

"Yeah, thanks," you say mildly.

Bokuto turns of the lamp and then leaves with Kuroo calling a garbled goodnight after him. With Bokuto gone Kuroo rolls over and immediately snuggles up to you.

"Didju know that I love you?" he mumbles.

"I did," you say softly, combing your fingers through his hair. "I love you too."

A few quiet minutes pass. You continue to stroke his hair, hoping that he's falling asleep, but then he says, "I don't wanna be a bad dad."

You frown. "You won't be bad."

"But how'm I s'posed to take care of a baby when I'm like this?"

"You're not going to be drunk all the time, Tetsurou," you chuckle.

"Noooo," he whines. "Jus' being me. Ir-ir-irsponsble."

You sigh and rub his back. "We're just going to have to grow up is all."

"I don't wanna grow up yet."

Your stomach sinks a little but you try to ignore it.

"Me neither," you say.

And then everything's quiet except for the sound of Kuroo's steady breathing.

You close your eyes against the tears threatening to spill and eventually fall asleep as well.

 

The next time you wake up the sun is out. Kuroo's not in bed with you and the bedroom door is open. You can hear someone throwing up in the bathroom. It's either Kuroo or Akaashi, but honestly you're just glad it's not you for once.

You crawl to the other side of the bed and grab your phone from the bedside table. You go to check the time, but when you see that you have a missed call and a text from your mother, time doesn't really matter to you anymore. You swallow nervously and then open the text.

 

> **From Mother:**
> 
> _Where have you been? Haven't heard from you in a while. Is everything okay? How's school? Call us._

 

You shut off your phone and toss it aside.

You bury yourself under the covers and hope that they'll shield you from your life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aha! there be drama ahead! 
> 
> i'm kinda not super thrilled about how i wrote suga. i didn't want him to come out so fairy godmotherish, but it happened anyway. i also don't even know if any of that was believable. but i can't bring myself to try and fix it so it is what it is. i'll do you more justice next time suga!
> 
> btw, i am also lowcarbzeros on [tumblr](http://lowcarbzeros.tumblr.com/). feel free to check in and kick my ass (politely) if i don't update for a while. or just ask me questions about 'we created a small thing' if you want. or don't do any of those things. it doesn't matter.
> 
> also, here's the [smutty story](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9377390) of the baby's conception, in case you missed it.


	8. bump in the road

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a very short chapter and down not incorporate everything that it was supposed to, but i'm stuck! so i figured i would just post what i have so far since i hit a natural break in the chapter. sorry for such a long wait.

A little over two weeks after the party you find yourself standing in front of the mirror in your bedroom, sideways with your shirt hiked up and your eyes wide.

You have a baby bump.

It's not a lot, but it's definitely there. Google had said between 12 and 14 weeks and, well, it was right. The bump is still small enough to cover with flowing shirts and sweaters, but you can say goodbye to any tight t-shirts until the news is out.

You run a hand over your stomach, smiling a little. It's both exciting and terrifying; you're really pregnant, you are really going to keep getting bigger, and you are really going to have a baby.

Holy shit.

You grab your phone from your desk, open up the camera, and then turn back to the mirror. You take a couple shots of your profile so you can document how your body will change over the next few months. When you're done that you shoot off a text to Kuroo:

**_To:_ ** _Nyatsurou_

_Come over after work?_

 

You sit on your bed and fiddle with your phone while you wait for a response, which you get a couple minutes later:

 

**_From:_ ** _Nyatsurou_

_Miss me that bad? (_ _∗_ _´_ _꒳_ _`)_

_No. The apartment's cold._

_I'm just looking for a bedwarmer._

_That's cold baby_

_No, I'M cold. THAT'S just the truth._

_(_ _⌣_ ___ _⌣_ _”)_

_(´ε_ _｀_ _*_ _)_ _♡_

_I'll be there around 10_

_I love you_ ＼(≧▽≦)／

_Yeah yeah, I love you too_

_☆ﾟ_ _.*_ _･｡ﾟ_ _━＼_ _(#_ _≧_ _ε_ _≦_ _#)_ _／_ _━☆ﾟ_ _.*_ _･｡ﾟ_

 

Smiling, you close your phone.  There's a good amount of time to kill before ten, so you pull out your laptop and school books to get some studying done while you can. Eventually, though, it gets too tiring and you give up, lying down instead.

You feel bloated and achy and gross. Despite the fact that you're not peeing as frequently, the soreness in your breasts has chilled out, and even the nausea has let up considerably, pregnancy still sucks. It's like when one annoying thing stops a new one just takes its place.

Aside from the party two weeks ago, you and Kuroo haven't had sex at all—it's hard to feel sexy when there's weird mucus coming out of you and you're bloated and constipated and all sorts of other joyful things. You'd read online that your sex drive would kick back in during the second trimester, which you really hope is true.

Whoever said that pregnancy was beautiful was so **wrong**.

At least so far.

As you lay there, your thoughts start to wonder in all directions until you fall asleep.

A while later you're woken by the ringtone that you've set for Kuroo. You fumble for your phone and answer it.

"Hey," you mumble sleepily.

There's a chuckle on the other end then Kuroo says, _"You ever gonna let me into your apartment, or do I have to sleep in the hallway tonight?"_

Your eyes shoot open. "Oh shit!" You scramble out of your bed. "Sorry, I'll be right there."

Another laugh. _"Okay."_

You hang up and see that it's about ten after ten and you have several texts from your boyfriend.

"Woops," you mutter, tossing your phone onto your bed before running to the door.

When you open it you're greeted by a raised eyebrow and amused smile. "Fall asleep?" Kuroo asks.

"Yeah." You move aside to let him in. "Sorry."

He steps in and bends down to press a kiss to your lips. "Don't worry 'bout it." He grins at you as he pulls away. "But I did knock a few times. I hope I didn't bother your flatmate."

Shrugging, you close the door and lock it. "She's not here."

"When is she ever?"

"That's a good question."

You both laugh. Kuroo puts an arm around you and pulls you to his chest, pressing a kiss into your hair. You place your hands on his sides, unable to hug him back properly because of his backpack.

"How was work?" you ask.

"Busy and tiring," he answers, "but I made out well in tips tonight—charmed the hell out of some nice old ladies."

"Oh, those poor old women never stood a chance," you sigh, pressing a kiss to his chest and smiling up at him.

"Hey, I have a baby on the way, need as much cash as I can get. The nice old ladies would understand."

Which reminds you...

"Come to my room," you say, taking his hand, "I want to show you something."

Kuroo gasps scandalously as you pull him toward your room. "Luring me into your bedroom? At least take me to dinner first."

 "Listen, Mr. _I Have A Baby On The Way_ , there are leftovers in the fridge." You give him a light shove through your door. "Now get your ass in there for a second."

You shut the door behind you just in case your flatmate does decide to show up at some point, and turn back to Kuroo. He's placed his bag down and is sitting on your bed, looking at you expectantly.

"What is it?" he asks.

Taking a deep breath, you turn sideways and lift up your shirt.

 It's very quiet for a moment. Then you hear Kuroo take in a breath. Glancing over, you see him staring at your stomach with a sweet smile. He stands up, stepping toward you to place a hand on your stomach.

"You're showing," he whispers excitedly.

"Just a little." You turn and face him. "But yeah."

Suddenly, Kuroo's kneeling down in front of you. He caresses the small swell of your stomach, smiling like an idiot. "Hey there little one," he says softly, "Finally decided to make an appearance, huh?"

You giggle as your own smile stretches ridiculously wide. "A webpage said they're about the size of a kiwi right now."

"Our little kiwi," he says, kissing your stomach.

Your heart swells while you run your fingers through his hair. He gives your stomach a few more kisses then stands up to wrap his arms around you, bending to tuck his face into your neck.

"Holy shit, this is really happening," he murmurs.

"Yeah." You rub his back. "That was my reaction too."

He kisses your neck then pulls back to kiss your lips too, warm and soft.

"So," he says when he pulls away, "what are these leftovers you spoke of?"

You snort.

"I'm sorry!" he exclaims, "I know we were having a moment, but I'm starving."

"Come on," you laugh, pulling away.

In the kitchen, you fish out the leftovers from the fridge and hand them to Kuroo to heat up. You lean against the counter, watching him as he puts the container in the microwave and starts it up. He mimics your stance against the counter across from you while he waits for his food. It's quiet between you, the whirring of the microwave filling up the space.

"I wonder if it's a boy or a girl," Kuroo says absently.

"Hm," you place a hand on your stomach, "I have no idea."

Kuroo smirks at you. "No guesses? Mother's intuition?"

You shrug. "It can be whatever it wants to be anyway."

Kuroo's smile softens. "Yeah, you're right."

The microwave beeps obnoxiously. Kuroo pulls out his food, grabs some chopsticks from a drawer, and starts shoveling hot rice into his mouth.

"Careful," you warn.

"Mms'fime," he says around a mouthful.

You shake your head at him.

 Since there's not really a proper table in your place, the two of you stay standing in the kitchen while Kuroo continues to inhale his food. Thankfully he slows down after another few bites, enough to start a conversation.

"So um—" he pauses to swallow, keeping his gaze on his food—"I was kinda wondering when you wanted to tell our parents about this."

The air around you suddenly feels a lot heavier. You think back to the text your mother had sent. You had called them, reluctantly, but pretended that everything was normal. There wasn't a bone in your body that was ready to tell them.

"How about we don't – ever," you answer.

Kuroo huffs a laugh. "Yeah, I hear you. But seriously."

"As far as _my_ parents are concerned," you say, crossing your arms, "I _am_ serious."

 Kuroo looks up at you with his brow furrowed. "We have to tell them, kitten."

"Yeah," you sigh, "I know that, but I'm not telling them until I absolutely have to."

"And when will that be?" he asks.

"Maybe when I go into labour." You make a face, shifting uncomfortably against the counter. "Even that seems too soon."

You look to Kuroo and find him frowning.

"Well," he says, going back to his food, shifting it around with his chopsticks, "I'd, um. I'd like to tell my mom soon."  

A knot starts to form in the pit of your stomach. "How soon?"

"She texted me today inviting us over for dinner this weekend."

"What?" You gape at him. "And you want to tell her then?"

He looks surprised by your reaction. "What? It would be a good time to do it."

"I'm not even fourteen weeks along yet, Tetsurou."

"Why does that matter?"

You sigh heavily. "Fourteen weeks is usually how long you're supposed to wait to tell people, because the risk of miscarriage is a lot less."

"Okay, but this isn't exactly a usual case." He puts the container down and then leans back against the counter, gripping it on either side of his body. "It's not like we were trying to have a baby. And we're barely even adults, we need support."

You laugh without humour, shaking your head and averting your gaze. "That's not what we're going to get from my parents."

"So that's why we need to tell my mom." His voice starts to grow louder with irritation. "She'll be there for us."

"We have Keiji and Bokuto right now."

"I _need_ my mom." He says your name in a sharp voice, insistent, making your eyes snap back to him. His posture is angry, but his eyes are pleading. With your attention, he continues, "I need her to know."

Suddenly it's all too much. You're exhausted and stressed and in no proper state to discuss this right now. You hate that you've made Kuroo upset, but you're upset too; upset that you can't just expect to get support from your parents like Kuroo can; upset that Kuroo doesn't truly understand that; upset that you have to think about any of this in the first place.

"It's late," you say quietly, "Can we talk about this tomorrow?"

Kuroo deflates, letting out a heavy sigh through his nose. "Fine."

"Okay."

You walk out of the kitchen and head to the bathroom, leaving Kuroo behind.

There you take your time getting yourself ready for bed, not particularly looking forward to having to cram into your small bed with Kuroo while you're sort of fighting.

The thing is- Kuroo has a really good family. His mom and uncles, cousins and grandparents are all so nice, it makes sense that he wants to seek their support. It's different for you, though, which Kuroo should know. He should know the reactions that you will be faced with when they find out—the very real possibility that you'll be disowned. You're already disconnected enough from your parents as it is, having moved out to go to university instead of staying at home and commuting like they had wanted—had expected—you to. Actually, getting knocked-up was exactly the kind of scenario your father had worried about when you'd first brought up moving out.

As if you and Kuroo hadn't already been fucking every chance you got when you still lived at home. You would have gotten pregnant even if you had stayed.

But your father won't see it that way.

You sigh and start brushing your teeth.

It's not that you don't ever want to tell Kuroo's mom. It would be nice to have an actual adult, not to mention another woman, to talk to about it. Maybe get some advice. But you're terrified about what her reaction will be. Just because you know she'll be supportive doesn't mean she'll be happy about it.

You're also pissed that Kuroo would just drop this on you only a couple of days beforehand and assume you'd be okay with it.

You spit out the toothpaste and rinse your mouth, throwing your toothbrush into the holder with an angry huff.

 With nothing else to do, you reluctantly leave the bathroom and walk the too-short distance to your bedroom. Upon entering, you find Kuroo sitting on your bed already in a t-shirt and boxers, staring off into space. He gets up at the sound of you entering, and without a glance your way, strides past you to finish getting ready himself.   

You hate when you guys are arguing. Even though you're not _explicitly_ fighting, you can tell that he's mad at you. You're not even sure why, since all that you've done is tell him you're not ready to tell people yet.

Well...

It could be because you cut off an important conversation and then just walked away.  

Yeah, that might be why.

Feeling down and agitated, you shuffle to your bed, pulling back the covers and crawling in. You scoot yourself close to the wall and lay down facing it, your back to everything else.

A short while later you hear Kuroo walk in, closing the door behind him and then turning off the light. The bed dips as he lies down behind you, and even though you can't see him, you can _feel_ that his back is to you as well. It causes an uncomfortable pang in your chest, like it does every time something like this happens.

You both stay that way for a while, silent, heavy.

Going to bed angry with each other sucks, especially in this bed because the only comfortable way of sleeping is to cuddle close. So, with a slow breath, and both of your best interests in mind, you resign yourself and roll over, careful not to touch Kuroo yet.

Then you wait.

 You know that he had to have heard and felt you roll over to face him, but he makes no move to do the same. So you shuffle even closer and press your forehead into his back, in between his shoulder blades. He's still for another moment. Then he reaches back and takes your wrist, pulling your arm forward to wrap around his body.

It eases some of the tension at least.  A silent understanding passes between you and him; you may be (sort of) fighting, but that doesn't mean any of the love goes away. You can argue tomorrow.

And you can work it out.

So for now, you shift so that you're spooning him properly, well, as properly as you can given his size, and you both eventually relax into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i promise i'm not abandoning this fic! i love it and will keep working to get chapters out. 
> 
> all of your comments and asks and kudos are so uplifting and really have made writing this so fun. thank you thank you thank you for your patience.


	9. mom, we fucked [up]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some more fighting and then kuroo's mom joins the picture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh, hey. surprise.

"You'll come home with me and Bo after practice tonight?" Kuroo asks from the doorway. "So we can talk."

You nod your head from where you're seated at the couch, not taking your eyes off of your laptop. "Yep."

"Okay," he says. You hear the apartment door open. "See you then."

"See you."

You wait for the sound of the door closing shut, but don't hear it right away. You stare at the screen, unwavering. Kuroo sighs and then you hear the door close—harder than what was necessary.

It's not an ideal start to the morning, but it is what it is. You just hope that you can get through your day without too much anxiety over the whole thing.

You do not accomplish that.

Every class you find yourself thinking about it; what you're going to say, what he might say, stomach in knots all the while. Your leg bounces like crazy—a habit you have apparently and unfortunately picked up from Kuroo.  He doesn't text you. You don't text him. And by the end of your final class of the day, you've worked yourself up into a bundle of nerves and annoyance.

The air is chilly as you stand outside the athletic centre entrance, waiting for the boys to finish practice. It feels good. The inside of your last lecture hall had been sweltering. At least to you, everyone else had seemed perfectly fine while you melted away in your seat.

Ah, yes—pregnancy.

The doors open, pulling your from that thought. You glance over to see Kuroo and Bokuto finally exiting the building, freshly showered and dressed in their street clothes, along with a few other players. They all either smile or nod at you, used to seeing you hanging around the team. You wave back to them with a small smile as they pass you, but when Kuroo and Bokuto approach you, your smile wavers slightly.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Bokuto greets you with a broad grin. "Been a while!" 

So Kuroo hasn't spoken to Bokuto about it. If he had, Bo—bless his heart—would have been  _ super _ obvious about knowing that you two were fighting.

"Hey, Bokkun."

You shift your gaze to your boyfriend, who comes up beside you and places his hand lightly on your lower back.

"Hey," he says softly, just barely strained.

"Hey," you respond in kind.

A brief second passes as you stare at each other before Kuroo clears his throat and looks over to Bokuto. "Shall we?"

Bokuto glances between you two, blinking in confusion.

The moment is not at all uncomfortable.

"Uh," he stammers then tries to cover with a short laugh. "Yeah! Let's go!"

The three of you set off toward the train station. Kuroo's hand leaves your back.

You walk between the guys, which is usual, but what's unusual is the tense quiet surrounding you all. And after a while, Bokuto, of course, is the one to break it.

"Man! I'm exhausted," he exclaims, slumping his shoulders exaggeratedly. "That practice really kicked my ass."

You hum. "I'm tired too."

"From what?" Bokuto laughs. "You only sat in class for half the day!"

"Yes, and I'm also  _ only _ creating an entire human being in my uterus as we speak." You smirk at him.

His eyes widen.

"Oh shit yeah!" he shouts much too loudly for the time of night. "My sisters always complained about being tired when they were pregnant too, now that I think about it."

He looks up thoughtfully for a moment before his face brightens and he turns to beam at you.

"Hey! Do you want a piggy back ride?"

You snort. "I'm fine, Bo."

"But you're doing like the hardest thing in the world right now! You shouldn't use more energy than you have to!"

"You're being silly," you laugh, "I can make it to the train station."

Bokuto makes a face at you and huffs. He drops his bag on the ground and jogs ahead a few paces, stopping to crouch down right in your path.

"[f/n]-chan, get on my back right now."

You sigh and roll your eyes, but comply, climbing up onto his back. He hooks his arms under your thighs to help keep you up then stands, not even remotely hindered by your weight or the weight of your backpack.

"What about your bag?" you ask, amused.

"Tets can carry it!" is his chirpy reply.

"I can?" Kuroo asks from behind you both.

Bokuto adjusts his grip on your legs a bit. "Well, considering  _ I'm  _ the one carrying  _ your _ tired and pregnant girlfriend, I think it's fair." 

Oh, sweet Bokkun, never one to read the mood.

You don't turn your head to look at Kuroo but you do hear him grumbling as he picks up Bokuto's bag. It takes a lot of self-discipline not to feel a little smug about it.

The three of you walk on, you and Bokuto chatting the whole way. Kuroo keeps stride but stays quiet.

The train ride goes by quickly. Bokuto offers to carry you again once you guys reach your stop, but this time you refuse, not wanting to make Kuroo any more upset than he probably already is. Even if you're fighting, you know that he would have given you a piggyback ride if you'd asked him. He's just like that.

It's not a long walk from the station to their building, but with how uncomfortably quiet it's become again, paired with the nerves settling into your stomach, it feels like it's forever before you're finally entering their apartment.

Akaashi greets you all from his seat on the couch, textbooks and papers spread around him. There's a chorus of "hey" followed by the loud  _ thump _ of Kuroo dumping his and Bokuto's bags on the ground.  You think maybe you'll hang out and chat with Akaashi for a moment just to give yourself a little more time before the inevitable argument, but then Kuroo's hand is on your back and he's steering you toward the hallway.

Just before you enter his room, you hear Bokuto attempting to whisper to Akaashi from the living room, "I think they're fighting." 

You catch Kuroo rolling his eyes beside you. And then you're in his room and he's closing the door.

Suddenly the nerves and agitation that you'd managed to keep isolated in your stomach spread through your whole body. You let your bag slide off your shoulders onto the floor then turn to Kuroo, who you find watching you with his arms crossed.

He opens his mouth as if to speak but then closes it, making a frustrated face.

You wait.

He takes a deep breath and goes to speak again, this time stepping close to you as he does.

"Okay, first of all," he says, then grabs your face and gives you firm kiss. You kiss him back until he pulls away and says, "I love you."

"I love you too," you reply.

After that he steps away. "Second," he puts his hands on his hips. "Why are you so against telling my mom that we're having a baby?"

"Woah, hang on," you immediately counter. "First I need to ask you why you thought it was okay to just spring this on me with only a couple days to think about it."

"Think about it?" Kuroo scoffs, eyebrows shooting up on his face. "You didn't even bother thinking about it for two seconds before you shot me down!"

"Because I'm not ready, Tetsurou!" He jumps a little at how loud your voice is, so you take it down a notch. "And you're not respecting that."

Kuroo scrubs at his face, making a frustrated sound. "And I need you to respect the fact that I need my mom's support in this very – scary – situation."

It's the first time you've actually heard him admit to you outright that he's scared, and it sets a pang in your chest. You soften your voice. "I just need a couple of weeks."

However, Kuroo is already too agitated to back down. He drops his hands from his face and looks at you exasperatedly. "A couple of weeks for what? What difference does two days or two weeks make when either way we have to tell her?"

A lump starts to form in your throat. You swallow it down and quietly say, "I need to be prepared."

"Oh my- prepared for what!" he shouts.

"Prepared for her to hate me!" you shout right back, hot tears gathering in your eyes.

He freezes, mouth dropping open. "Hate you?"

"For ruining her son's life!" The tears start spilling. You try to rub them away. "For being stupid enough to get pregnant!"

You stand there crying, embarrassed by the admission. When you look up at your boyfriend, you find him staring at you with gentle eyes, anger washed away by your tears.

"Oh, baby," he says after a moment, moving closer to you. "She could never hate you. Come here."

"No," you protest, pushing him away when he tries to wrap his arms around you. "You were just yelling at me. I don't want to hug you right now."

"Okay, just—" he backs away, looking unsure of what to do with his arms until he takes your hands in his instead. "My mom loves you like she would her own daughter. You're family, you know that."

You stare at your joined hands as he rubs his thumb over your knuckles.

"Will she be disappointed?" He takes in a deep breath then exhales slowly. "Yeah, she will and it makes me sick to my stomach thinking about telling her, feeling like I let her down."

You lift your gaze to look at his face; he's not looking at you anymore, instead he's staring off to the side, gnawing on his bottom lip.  

"It's gonna suck," he continues, "and I am not looking forward to that, or the lecture that we're  _ both _ gonna get." He turns to look at you now. The vulnerability in his eyes makes your heart ache. "But once that's out of the way I know that she will support us in every way she can. And I really need that support."

Tears continue to fall down your cheeks. He squeezes your hands.

"I think we both do," he adds.

A shaky intake of breath is all you manage before a sob tears through your throat and you're leaning forward into Kuroo's chest. He lets go of your hands to wrap his arms around you, holding you tight. It takes a minute before you calm down enough to talk.

"It's just that sh-she's the closest thing I've ever had to a good p-parent," you sniffle, returning his embrace, "And I couldn't stand to l-lose that."  

A hand smoothes down your hair. "You won't, baby. I promise."

Taking more deep breaths, you hang on to Kuroo tighter.  

"I'm sorry I pushed so hard," he murmurs, pressing a kiss into your hair, "I shouldn't have gotten so angry."

"I'm sorry I didn't just tell you what I was feeling," you respond.

There are a couple more kisses to the top of your head and then Kuroo leans down and presses his lips to yours.  It's short and sweet, just enough to convey forgiveness—on both sides.

"So," he says when he pulls back, "What do you want to do?"

"I—" you stop and take a moment to really think. Kuroo's hands soothe up and down your back. You inhale—"Fuck it—" exhale—"let's just get it over with."

"You sure?"

You give him a look. "After all that, you're going to ask me if I'm sure?"

He opens his mouth, casting his eyes up as if looking for a good answer. "Ah, no- yep, you're right."

Pressing your forehead into his chest, you snicker. He rests his cheek on top of your head and squeezes you tight, laughing along with you. The sound of it rumbles in his chest, washing the last of your irritation away.

With one last squeeze, Kuroo pulls away then leads you to flop down to lay on his bed with him.

"What's the game plan then?" he asks, throwing an arm over your waist.

"Well," you start, turning your head to look at him. "You're doing all of the talking."

The corner of his mouth twitches. "That's fair."

"Other than that, I don't really know."

"Hmm." He thinks for a moment. "I guess all that we really need to figure out is whether we tell her before or after dinner."

"Neither of those are favourable," you mumble.

A hopelessly long exhale is all you get in response.  For a while you both just lay there quietly, thinking.

"Well," you finally say, rolling over to cuddle close to him, "Bring it up whenever it feels right to you. Just give me a little warning so I can brace myself."

"A warning? Like what, I should throw you a wink?" he asks, grinning. "A code word? Oh wait, what about a bird call?"

He brings a hand up to cup around his open mouth and takes a breath. Before he can start squawking or hooting or anything more ridiculous, you shove a hand in his face. He makes an aborted noise and tries to bat your hand away.

"Just squeeze my thigh or something you jackass." You pull your hand away to find him still grinning at you. "I know subtlety isn't your strong suit, but at least try."

"I'm subtle all the time."

"That's just not true."

"How would you know? Maybe my subtlety is just so subtle that you don't even notice when it's happening."

"Now you sound like Bokkun."

He laughs, one of his full-bellied hyena cackles, and rolls onto his back. The sound, as awful as it is, sends warmth through your body. A smile spreads across your face.  

"Come on." You pat his stomach and sit up. "I need ice cream and olives."

You hear Kuroo groan something like "gross" as he sits up to follow you.  Rolling your eyes, you stand to walk to the door. Before you can open it though, Kuroo's strong arms wrap around your waist, pulling you back against his chest. He nuzzles into your hair then leans down to plant a sweet kiss to your neck. He's such a sap.

Cute.

You tilt your head to the side so you can press a kiss to his cheek, patting the hand he's laid on your stomach. With a hum, he lets you go.

The second the door opens, you hear Bokuto exclaim, "Oh! Are you guys done fighting now?"

"Shut up, you nosy ass!" Kuroo yells back, charging toward the living room.

You shake your head and go to the kitchen, ignoring their squabbling.  All you care about is chocolate ice cream and green olives. The olives have ended up tucked into the back of the fridge again so you have to do some shuffling to get them out. It's annoying but it'll be worth it. You set the jar on the counter then open the freezer to—

What the fuck.

There is no ice cream in sight.

"Who ate all of the ice cream!"

A muttered  _ fuck  _ comes from the living room. And as quiet as it is, you still know their voices well enough to know who said it.

"Akaashi Keiji!" You slam the freezer shut.  "I am going to fucking kill you!" 

You turn just in time to see Akaashi scrambling off of the couch, mouth spilling another series of  _ fuck _ s as he dashes to the door. "I'm going to the store right now."

Glaring, you watch him shove his feet into his shoes and leave the apartment.

"I don't think I've ever seen Keiji  _ flee  _ from anything before," Bokuto says, staring at the door in awe.

"Amazing," Kuroo adds just as dumbfounded.

"Hey!" Bokuto turns to look at you with a smirk. "Maybe I should get pregnant so he'll start listening to me too!"

Despite your annoyance, you snort.

You may be surrounded by idiots, but at least you're not thinking about your visit to Kuroo's mom anymore.

 

* * *

 

**A Few Panicked Texts Between Friends**

 

**From:** _ Keiji-chan _

 

_ How are you feeling about tomorrow? _

_ I'd rather rip off all of my fingernails than tell her what a huge disappointment i am _

_ I want to puke and then drown myself in the puke _

_ That's disgusting. _

_ Deal with it _

_ She's going to be more pissed at Kuroo, you know that right? _

_ That doesn't make me feel better _

_ It would make me feel better. _

_ That's bc you're an asshole _

_ True enough. Sleep well. _

_ Fuck off _

_ ღ _ _ ゝ◡╹ _ _ ) _ _ ノ _ _ ♡ _

 

-x-

 

**From:** _ koolkat _

 

_ I can hear u freaking out from here _

_ No you can't. _

_ But yeah, I'm freaking out. _

_ My mom is going to castrate me when I tell her. _

_ She will not _

_ No, but she is going to be really disappointed in me and I think that's worse. _

_ How r u gonna tell her? _

_ Somehow "hey mom, lovely dinner. Btw I knocked up  _

_ my girlfriend and now I'm in the exact scenario you warned me about  _

_ when I was in high school because I'm a moron please help me" doesn't seem right. _

_ A little wordy _

_ Kenma. I'm in turmoil. _

_ Ur mom is the most caring person alive. U know that u'll feel better once u tell her _

_ I know. _

_ Then calm down and get some sleep _

_ Okay okay. Thank you. _

_ Ya whatever. Night _

_ Goodnight   _ _ ⊂ _ _ ( _ _ ･ _ _ ω _ _ ･ _ _ * _ _ ⊂ _ _ ) _

_ ( _ _ っ _ _ ⇀ _ _ ⑃ _ _ ↼ _ _ ) _ _ っ _

 

 

* * *

****

 

Today’s the day. 

You and Kuroo are on the train heading to his mom’s house, a couple of nervous wrecks; you’re clutching your stomach, trying incredibly hard not to puke everywhere from nerves while Kuroo’s leg bounces like crazy beside you. He keeps running his hands through his hair, making it beyond messy. 

It’s an hour long train ride, but somehow it feels like you arrive in minutes. The bus ride goes by much too fast as well. And then you and Kuroo are walking from the bus stop, hand-in-hand, through his old neighbourhood.   

“How you feelin kitten?” Kuroo eventually asks. 

“Well,” you draw the word out, swinging your held hands back and forth, “ya’ know.”

From the corner of your eye you see him nod sagely. “Yeah.”

The two of you continue on quietly, both caught up in your own thoughts, until the next thing you know you’re walking up the pathway to Kuroo’s childhood home. It looks just as small and lived-in as always. Warm. That would be comforting if you weren’t about to confess to screwing up in a major, life-altering way. 

“Is it too late to back out?” you mutter. 

Kuroo knocks on the door. “Yup.” 

Fuck.  

There’s the sound of footsteps. Kuroo squeezes your hand. You hear the lock click, the door starts to open.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck.

And then Kuroo’s mom is standing in the doorway, a familiar smirk on her face. 

“Well if it isn’t my future daughter-in-law!” You flinch a little at that—she always jokes about it, but now it’s a lot closer to the truth than she knows. Luckily, she misses it, having already turned to Kuroo. “And my son who never visits.” 

She gestures for you to both come inside. You let Kuroo go first, following behind. 

“I’m busy this time of year ma, you know that,” he says, pulling his mom into a tight hug. There’s enough of a height difference that he can rest his chin on top of her head. You close the door behind you and start taking off your shoes. 

“Too busy to visit your old crone of a mother,” she sighs, pulling away. “I know.”

She throws you a wink and comes over to hug you as well. 

“I text you,” Kuroo gripes. “Like all the time.”

“Not lately,” she protests, turning back to Kuroo with a frown that’s contradicted by the teasing glint in her eye. “I’m used to getting texts from you almost daily. So many, in fact, that if I didn’t know better I’d think I was your only friend.”

Despite the glower Kuroo gives her, she continues, “And then suddenly I only ever get to hear from you if I text first.” She  _ tsks _ . “You shouldn’t worry your mother like that, Tetsurou.” 

“M’sorry ma.” You can see the guilt in his eyes as he toes off his shoes, rubbing the back of his neck. “Things have just been crazy.”

“Apparently!” she exclaims, leading you two out of the entranceway. “Come on, tell me what’s new. I feel so out of the loop. You two could’ve run off and gotten married and I wouldn’t’ve even known about it.” 

She laughs at herself, and you would at least try to laugh along except that Kuroo has frozen beside you. Praying with everything in you that he’s not about to do what you think he is, you glance over at him. His mouth is pinched and he looks like he’s about to explode. You try to grab his hand to ground him but then—

“We’re having a baby,” he blurts—your stomach drops. “Accidentally,” he adds clumsily. “We’re having a baby, accidentally.” 

Time seems to slow down as your probably future mother-in-law turns around. Your heart lodges into your throat. When her face finally comes into view, her mouth and eyes are drawn, brows furrowed, looking between you two. Seconds stretch past and you can barely breathe. You can feel Kuroo practically vibrating beside you. God, you need her to say something. Anything.

“Shit.” 

Okay, maybe something a little more than that. 

It’s another moment before she takes a deep breath and then slides the door to the living room open, gesturing inside. “Couch. Both of you. Now.” 

Feeling like you might choke on how heavy the air is, you obey. Kuroo follows close beside you, and the hand he places on the small of your back is almost comforting. You sit together on the couch. Kuroo’s leg is bouncing again, your hands are folded tightly, resting in your lap. The pattern of the throw carpet becomes very interesting to you as you chew on the inside of your cheek, waiting for Kuroo’s mom to join. You hear her footsteps approaching then— 

“Kuroo Tetsurou.” There’s a  _ thwack _ and Kuroo yelps. You turn to see him cringing from where is mom is standing behind him frowning down at the back of his head. “If I still had the power to ground you, I would.”  

Then her face softens and she sighs. “But I don’t, so here we are.” She rounds the couch and sits on the coffee table in front of you guys. It’s a familiar scene that takes you back to when you first started dating Kuroo. “Tetsurou,” she starts, sounding almost exasperated, “I have been drilling responsible sex practices into your head since I first started finding crusty socks in your laundry.” 

Beside you, Kuroo makes an embarrassed face.

“And then when you two finally started dating,” she continues, looking to you as well now, “We all had a  _ the talk  _ together, right here, sitting exactly like this. You were both very embarrassed, and Tetsurou you kept groaning that you  _ knew  _ everything that I was saying and that I had  _ nothing  _ to worry about.” She looks at Kuroo expectantly. “Did you forget it all then?”

Kuroo swallows. “No.” 

“So then what happened?” 

He holds his mother’s gaze for a moment before casting his eyes down. “I uh, made some -poor- decisions.” 

“Damn right you did kid,” she sighs, reaching out to pat Kuroo’s knee. “But you definitely know that, so I won’t yell at you anymore.” 

She pulls back and rubs her face, letting out a breath. “Okay.” Then her eyes are on you, exuding warmth and kindness and looking so, so much like Kuroo’s—the only physical trait they really share. “Have you been to the doctor, sweetie?” 

This whole time you haven’t said a word, just been observing what’s going on, so you struggle to find your voice at first. “Um, yes.”

“Good. How far along are you?” 

“Ah-” you take a breath, throat feeling tight- “close to thirteen weeks.” 

Her eyes widen. “Oh wow, okay.” 

Suddenly feeling very guilty, you start to stammer, eyes stinging. “I-I’m sorry we didn’t tell you sooner. It’s just- I just- we—”

“Sh-shh,” she hushes, taking your hands in hers. “You don’t have to explain, I understand.” 

And you know that she really does, having had Tetsurou when she was only 20. The only, and perhaps most important, difference was that the father of her child hadn’t stuck around for any of it.  

Tears well up in your eyes. “I’m glad you know now, though,” you choke out. 

“Oh, sweetie,” she says, kneeling down in front of you to pull you into a hug. “Shh, I know it’s scary.”  

She holds you while you cry, rubbing your back soothingly. Another hand, Kuroo’s, quickly joins hers.  

Once you’re able to calm down and catch your breath, you pull back. She lets you go, sitting back up on the coffee table. Kuroo’s hand stays on your back. You wipe at your eyes, only to look down at your hands and remember that you’d been wearing mascara, which is now probably smudged all over your face. 

“Shit, I’ll uh-” you stand up- “sorry, I’m just gonna go to the washroom.” 

“Of course.”

Kuroo’s mom shifts to give you space to move. You leave the living room and head to the washroom. 

 

Kuroo watches you walk away, wondering why you wore mascara when things were very obviously going to bet emotional, but then the thought is gone because now he’s alone with his mother and he can feel her looking at him carefully. Telling her was a huge weight off of his shoulders, no matter how poorly executed the admission was. But now she  _ knows _ . She knows that he’s not as responsible as she thought. Knows what an idiot he is. 

“Tetsurou.” 

A bad son. 

“Tetsu, honey, look at me.” 

Reluctantly, he shifts his gaze to her face. Her expression is sad, but gentle. 

“Are you keeping it?” she asks.

He nods, unable to speak around the lump that has formed in his throat. 

She takes a deep breath, nodding as well, a knowing smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “I figured as much.” She moves from the coffee table to sit beside him, bumping his shoulder. “Looks like the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” 

Kuroo tries to think of a smartass answer, but after he finally draws in a breath, all that comes out is a strangled, “I’m sorry mom.” And then he’s sobbing into his hands, tremors wracking his body. He hasn’t cried since the night you two found out that you were pregnant. The force of it hurts his chest. 

Through the choked sounds of his crying, he hears his mom cooing his name. Then her arms are wrapping around him, pulling him close, placing a hand on his head. He feels like a kid again.

“Oh, my sweet boy,” she says, combing fingers through his hair. “It’s gonna be okay.” 

“I don’t—” another sob—“want you to be disappointed in me.” 

“I am not disappointed in you,” she answers firmly. “Concerned for your future, yes, like any mother would be. But not disappointed.” She guides him to sit up, then takes his face between her hands. “I am proud of you for taking responsibility for your hand in this. Proves that I raised you right.” She smirks. “For the most part.” 

That makes Kuroo laugh, breathing starting to regulate. His mom rubs her thumbs under his eyes to wipe away the tears that have slowed. When he finally calms down, his mom lets go of his face to ruffle his hair. 

“You’re making me a grandma real early here, you little shit.” 

“Yeah, well, you were a mom real early too,” he says, wiping his eyes. “I’m just keeping your life consistent.” 

That earns him another smack to the head. He cackles, already feeling so much lighter. 

“Come on, you.” She stands from the couch. “I was planning on mackerel for dinner, but that won’t work anymore, so we’re ordering in.” 

Kuroo swallows down his disappointment. If he’d wanted his mom’s grilled salted mackerel pike, he shouldn’t have gotten his girlfriend pregnant. He stands to follow his mom to the kitchen, feeling more secure than he has in weeks. 

 

It’s when you exit the bathroom, face clear of running mascara, that you hear the crying coming from the living room. You tiptoe down the hallway and peek inside. The sight of Kuroo leaning into his mother’s arms, shoulders shaking, head in his hands as he sobs, makes your heart ache—for a number of reasons. One, obviously, being that it always hurts you to see your love hurting, but what hurts almost as much is that for some reason he feels like he can’t share this pain with you. It’s possible that it’s just something he needs his mom for. You don’t have much experience with that sort of thing, but you could understand. That’s what you really want to believe it is, but some doubt still nags at you. Akaashi had told you awhile ago that Kuroo had cried the night you took the pregnancy test. The only times you’ve seen him show any kind of fear was when he was drunk or when you were fighting. 

Why wouldn’t he share these things with you? 

In the time you’ve taken to think about it, the sound of crying has shifted into laughter. You decide to worry about it later and go to the kitchen to get some water instead of looming in the doorway. 

You’ve only just turned off the tap when Kuroo and his mom walk in. 

“Oh, hey babe,” Kuroo says, approaching you and putting an arm around your waist. “You okay?” 

With a half smile, you nod. “Yeah, I’m good.”

You look up at Kuroo’s red-rimmed eyes and wonder if he’s going to say anything, but when he opens his mouth, his mother interrupts:

“Alright children, what do we want for dinner?” 

Kuroo’s lips quirk. “Anything you want, ma.” 

“Don’t you try to suck up to me now, young man.” 

“Heh.”

 

It takes some discussion, but eventually you all decide on something. After Kuroo’s mom makes the call you all sit around and wait, chatting about what else is new in everyone’s lives. It’s nice to catch up with Kuroo’s mom. She doesn’t bring up the accidental pregnancy at all, not even when the food arrives and you’re all eating. 

It’s after dinner when everything’s been cleaned up and you’re all sipping on tea that she finally says something about it. 

“Okay, I’ve given you guys a bit of a break from the subject,” she says, looking between you and Kuroo critically, “But now we have to talk about it.”  

Nerves well up in your stomach, but it’s nowhere near as bad as when you first got here. Kuroo takes your hand that’s resting on top of the table and gives it a reassuring squeeze. 

“Let’s do it,” he says. 

“Alrighty then,” is her reply. She folds her hand in front of her, face serious. “What’s your guys’s plan?” 

At that you and Kuroo are quiet. 

“Do you have a plan?” she prompts further. 

“Uh,” Kuroo starts eloquently, “I guess we haven’t totally talked about it yet. I mean, I’ve been saving money and stuff…”

He trails off at the look his mother gives him. She looks between the both of you like you’re a pair of morons. 

“So, that’s something you two need to start figuring out, like, now.” She prods the table with a finger to punctuate her point. “I know nine months seems like a long time, but it’ll be over before you know it. And you don’t want to end up holding your newborn child in your arms with no plan as to how you’re going to provide for it.” 

Kuroo’s hand twitches around yours. 

“It’s really good that you’ve been putting money aside, honey,” she continues, “but that’s not enough. What are you guys going to do about school? Childcare?” She sets her eyes on you. “Have you gotten a job?” Hesitantly, you shake your head. “Are you going to get one?” 

“I’ve been worried that wherever I work will fire me as soon as they realise I’m pregnant,” you murmur, glancing over at Kuroo. He runs a thumb over your knuckles. 

“That’s a very real possibility.” She crosses her arms and sits back in her chair, looking up thoughtfully. “Let me ask around my circle of friends to see if any of them would be willing to employ you now and then take you back after you’ve run out of maternity leave.” 

“Than- thank you,” you stammer, unsure how to deal with that amount of kindness. “I’ve been putting aside half of the allowance my parents give me each month, but I know that won’t be enough.” 

“That’s okay sweetie.” She gives you a comforting smile. “This shit’s hard even for grown adults.” Then her expression changes to something you can’t quite place – Anger? Annoyance? Pity? “Speaking of your parents—” ah, a mix of all three— “I’m going to assume you haven’t told them yet.”

You tighten your grip on Kuroo’s hand. “No, I haven’t.” 

“Understandable,” she says. 

“I’m afraid,” you whisper. 

“I know.” She reaches across the table to rest her hand on top of the one Kuroo’s not holding. “But when you do tell them, just know that I have your back, okay?” 

Gratefulness overwhelms you and you have to fight back tears. “Okay.” 

She takes back her hand and picks up her mug. “Now finish up your tea, both of you, and get out of my house.” 

The seriousness clears from the air as you and Kuroo laugh, picking up your mugs as well. 

 

With your teas finished, you and Kuroo stand in the entryway ready to say goodbye. 

“I love you,” Kuroo’s mom says and she hugs her son tight. 

“I love you too, ma.” 

She pats him on the back and then lets him go, turning to you with open arms. “You too, kiddo.” 

You accept her hug with a smile. She squeezes you once then lets you go. 

“If you need anything or have any questions, don’t hesitate to call me, alright?” 

“Thank you, I will.” 

With that you and Kuroo leave with a promise to visit again soon, and to bring an ultrasound picture next time dammit. 

“I’m glad that’s over with,” Kuroo says as you walk to the bus stop. 

“Me too,” you agree. “I’m glad we’ve got her support now.” 

Kuroo wraps his arm around your shoulder and pulls you close. “Me too.” 

You expect him to say something about telling your parents now, but he doesn’t. You’re grateful. That’s not something you’re ready for yet. For now, you guys have to focus on making a plan to support your baby once it’s born, and that’s terrifying enough on it’s own. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been a year and one month since i started this! crazy. thank you so much to everyone for your continued support. it makes writing this so much fucking fun.

**Author's Note:**

> i wish kuroo was real


End file.
